One of Alphabet Inc.’s X-Lab moonshot efforts that is seeking to deliver cutting-edge geothermal energy technology is following in the path of Waymo before it, spinning off as its own company.

Called Dandelion Inc., the company, based on research initially started under the then named Google X Lab,  claims it can affordably drill and install geothermal systems to heat and cool homes not on a collaborative commercial basis but for individual homes, a radical departure from existing geothermal energy technology.

“Home geothermal systems can offer lower and steadier monthly energy costs because they use the energy in the ground under your yard,” Dandelion Chief Executive Officer Kathy Hannun said in a post on Medium Thursday. “The ground stays at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit year round. In the wintertime, water circulating through U-shaped plastic pipes installed in your yard absorbs heat from the earth, and then a geothermal heat pump inside of your home turns it into warm air. In the summertime, the pump draws the warm air out of your home and the so-called ‘ground loops’ disperse the heat into the earth.”

Dandelion’s technology is also said to be environmentally friendly as it negates the need for heating fuels such as oil or propane that come complete with carbon dioxide and particulate emissions.

The structure of the company is not clear, nor is much of its history as a member of Alphabet’s X Lab, given that it has never been mentioned prior to its launch today. While Waymo remains a fully owned spinoff, it appears that Alphabet retains equity in Dandelion but isn’t interested in maintaining outright ownership: The company is raising $2 million in seed funding in a round led by Collaborative Fund that included ZhenFund and Borealis Ventures.

In an age where solar panels can provide power to a home at an increasingly affordable cost, it’s not inconceivable that the ability to add geothermal energy to the mix may not be far off into the future either.

Image: Dandelion