carbon-free-power
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Mazama Energy
Mazama Energy is a Frisco, Texas geothermal developer building Enhanced Geothermal Systems that tap superhot rock (SHR) - underground formations above 374 C - to deliver low-cost, round-the-clock, carbon-free electricity. Incubated by Khosla Ventures and backed by Gates Frontier, the company reached a world-record 629 F (331 C) bottomhole temperature at its Newberry Volcano pilot in Oregon and aims to produce power at under 5 cents per kWh, with 10x the power density, 75% less water, and 80% fewer wells than conventional geothermal.
Zanskar
Zanskar is a Salt Lake City geothermal company that uses artificial intelligence and computational geoscience to find, de-risk, and develop naturally occurring geothermal energy. By applying machine learning to vast troves of geological data, Zanskar pinpoints 'blind' hydrothermal reservoirs that leave no clue at the surface, cutting the exploration risk that has long kept geothermal expensive. The company is now moving from discovery to building its own power plants, with a multi-gigawatt pipeline aimed at making 24/7 carbon-free power cost-competitive.
Quaise Energy
Quaise Energy is an MIT spinout commercializing millimeter wave drilling, a technique that uses powerful gyrotrons to vaporize rock and bore holes up to 20 km deep - far deeper than conventional bits can reach. The goal is to tap superhot geothermal heat (up to ~500 C) almost anywhere on Earth, turning geothermal into a scalable, carbon-free baseload power source that can be delivered through existing power plant infrastructure.