JKP Beogradske elektrane , has launched a new tender for the third phase of scientific studies into the geothermal potential of underground water resources at sites within its heating-plant and boiler-house network. The procurement is for services, uses an open procedure, and carries reference number 160 ОУ/26. The submission deadline is 19 October 2026 at 10:30, and the tender status is listed as published. This procurement is significant because it shows that the city’s geothermal program is moving beyond preliminary exploration and into a more detailed assessment phase. The tender documentation indicates that the work is intended to support the evaluation of geothermal resources for district heating use, which aligns with broader efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in urban heating systems. What the Tender Covers The procurement title is “Phase 3 scientific study of the geothermal potential of underground water resources in the territory of heating plants and...
Mazama Energy Raises $135M to Drill Superhot Geothermal Wells for AI Power
Mazama Energy’s new $135 million Series B is a major signal that superhot geothermal is moving from frontier science toward real commercial deployment. The company says the capital will help it drill deeper, develop horizontal wells in superhot rock, and move closer to generating electricity next year from its Oregon project.
Mazama Energy’s $135 Million Funding Round
Mazama Energy announced an oversubscribed Series B totaling $135 million, with backing from major climate and energy investors. The round was led by Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital, and it also drew participation from ConocoPhillips, Shell Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Gates Frontier, SiteGround Capital, H. Barton Asset Management, and the Jeffrey and Marieke Rothschild Foundation.
That investor mix matters because it shows geothermal is attracting both traditional energy capital and venture investors. The company was incubated at Khosla Ventures, which has long pushed hard-tech climate bets, and this latest round suggests the market now sees enhanced geothermal as one of the more credible next-generation clean power options.
Why Superhot Rock Matters
Mazama is not pursuing conventional geothermal development. Instead, it is targeting deeper, hotter rock where temperatures can reach around 400°C, or 750°F, creating conditions that can generate far more electricity per well than standard geothermal systems.
At these depths, water can become a supercritical fluid, meaning it behaves like neither a typical liquid nor a normal gas. That state can absorb much more energy from rock, which is why Mazama says each well could produce up to 10 times more power than traditional geothermal technologies.
This is the core appeal of enhanced geothermal systems: they aim to unlock geothermal power in places that do not have classic hydrothermal resources. If successful, that would dramatically expand the map for geothermal development and make it more relevant to large power users, grid operators, and industrial customers.
Oregon Site Gets Bigger
Mazama says its first Oregon site may have the potential to produce 10 gigawatts of electricity, a sharp upward revision from the 5-gigawatt estimate mentioned last year. The company also says it has already secured land for a second development, which suggests it is thinking beyond a single pilot project.
The startup expects to start generating electricity sometime next year and aims to complete development of the first site by 2030. If those timelines hold, Mazama could become one of the earliest companies to demonstrate commercial-scale power from superhot rock at meaningful output levels.
Its drilling progress is also notable. The company says it has already drilled past 10,000 feet in 15 days on the way to about 15,000 feet, underscoring how quickly some of the engineering challenges are being addressed. That kind of progress is important because drilling remains one of the biggest cost and execution risks in geothermal.
Why Investors Care
The timing of Mazama’s raise is tied closely to the growing demand for clean, firm electricity from AI data centers and other large grid loads. As power demand rises, geothermal is increasingly being viewed as an alternative to natural gas because it can deliver around-the-clock generation without intermittency.
That makes superhot geothermal especially attractive. Unlike solar and wind, it can offer dispatchable power, and unlike gas, it does not rely on fuel combustion. For investors, that creates a potential “best of both worlds” story: clean energy with the reliability profile of baseload generation.
Mazama’s funding also reflects a broader shift in how the market views geothermal risk. A few years ago, enhanced geothermal often seemed too experimental for large checks, but the combination of climate urgency, AI power demand, and better drilling technology has changed that perception.
How Big Could It Get?
Mazama points to research from the University of Twente and the Clean Air Task Force suggesting that tapping just 1% of superhot rock worldwide could generate more than 63 terawatts of electricity. That is an enormous theoretical resource base and one of the strongest arguments for why investors continue to back superhot geothermal development.
Of course, the gap between resource potential and commercial reality is still wide. The hardest part is proving that wells can be drilled reliably, maintained economically, and connected into a project design that delivers durable electricity at competitive cost.
Still, the scale of the upside is hard to ignore. If superhot geothermal can be replicated across multiple sites, it could become a major firm-power source for grids that need clean capacity growth fast.
Competition In The Sector
Mazama is part of a broader wave of enhanced geothermal startups racing to commercialize deeper drilling and higher-temperature resource extraction. These companies are increasingly positioning geothermal as a serious solution for data center power, industrial heat, and grid reliability.
That competition is important because it will likely accelerate technical learning, lower drilling costs, and sharpen the business models across the sector. It also means investors are not betting on a single company, but on an entire class of next-generation geothermal development.
For the market, the key question is which company can reach commercial generation first and prove repeatable economics. Mazama’s current momentum puts it in the front of that race.
What To Watch Next
The most important near-term milestones are whether Mazama can maintain drilling speed, hit its target depths, and move from subsurface testing to actual power generation next year. The company’s Oregon site will be watched closely because it could become one of the first real demonstrations of superhot geothermal at commercial scale.
Investors will also watch whether Mazama can turn large theoretical resource estimates into bankable, financeable project economics. If it succeeds, the company could help establish geothermal as a core power source for the AI era.
Source: TechCrunch
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