Climate CEOs: Scaling Startups The 100-Year Energy Asset Hiding Under Cities | Brightcore Energy
16 snips
Mar 30, 2026 
Mike Richter, former NHL All-Star turned president of BrightCore Energy, builds urban geothermal and energy-efficiency systems. He discusses ground-source heat pumps using stable subsurface temperatures. He explains how directional drilling and in-house design enable dense city installs. He covers financing like Energy-as-a-Service and tax credits that remove upfront barriers.
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Thermal Loops Let Buildings Share Waste Heat
- Geothermal systems enable thermal networks where waste heat from one facility becomes heat for another, reducing electricity and combustion use.
- Richter gives the example of capturing data center waste heat to supply hot water to neighboring housing.
Tennis Courts And Parking Become Hidden Borefields
- BrightCore repurposed campus spaces like tennis courts and parking areas as temporary borefields and restored them after installation.
- Richter cites projects where single lines went down walkways and tennis areas were used then returned to recreational use.
Get Early Access When HVAC Is Near End Of Life
- Engage early when a building nears end-of-life for HVAC or during new builds to capture retrofit opportunities.
- Richter recommends providing rough orders of magnitude upfront to see if geology and thermal conductivity make sense.
