The Hague-based Canopus, a drilling solutions platform, announced on Friday, September 16, that it has secured €2.6M in a round of funding from impact investors SHIFT Invest and ENERGIIQ.
The Dutch company says it will use the funds to expand the organisation for system tests at TNO’s Rijswijk Center for Sustainable Geo-energy and the first field test drilling for geothermal energy production.
According to Canopus, about half of the energy used in Europe is used for heat. Geothermal energy is one of the cleanest and most sustainable ways of supplying heat, and is an indispensable part of the energy transition.
Canopus: What you need to know
Founded by Jan Jette Blangé, Canopus has developed a disruptive drilling technique that makes sustainable and reliable heat supply substantially cheaper worldwide.
The company’s drilling technology is based on jetting and advanced underground navigation. Canopus says its technology can steer a drilling unit accurately and allow it to drill long horizontal wells.
Jan Jette Blangé is the inventor of the Shell Abrasive Jet Drilling patent portfolio.
Following a Ph.D. in Atomic Physics, he joined the Shell Wells R&D department’s Hard Rock Drilling team. Later, he became project lead and department lead, managing various Well Construction Technology Development and Commercialisation projects, including Abrasive Jetting, Directional Drilling, Drilling Automation, Automatic Mud Property Control, and Drill String Dynamics.
He was also directly responsible for the construction of surface and downhole prototype well construction hardware, including the Abrasives Injection System and Rotary Steerable Systems.
“We aspire to be a guiding light for geothermal drilling, navigating drilling units towards new horizons, opening up new possibilities for geothermal reservoir development projects,” says the company.
About SHIFT Invest
Founded in 2009, SHIFT Invest is a Dutch impact venture capital fund that invests in innovations related to food & agriculture, green industries, energy transition, and sustainable mobility & logistics. It backs startups that are achieving a positive environmental impact and financial return.
Earlier this month, the VC also invested in an Amsterdam-based OMRT startup.
About ENERGIIQ
ENERGIIQ provides various tailor-made financial instruments, including shares and loans. In addition, the firm claims to provide funds to SMEs that commercialise their proven energy innovation.
It invests between €200K and €4.3M, whereby ENERGIIQ takes on a maximum of 50 per cent of the total investment needed, and 50 per cent must come from private co-investors.
