Using Custom-Built Artificial Intelligence, Zanskar Drills Second Major Geothermal Discovery at an Overlooked "Conventional" Geothermal Site

September 18, 2025 at 09:00 AM EDT

Zanskar's drilling results at “Pumpernickel” in Northern Nevada have proven one of the top-ranked geothermal discoveries in the U.S. of the last decade, putting Pumpernickel on a path to becoming one of the largest geothermal power plants in Nevada, with its initial phase of development delivering power in just 3 years.

Following its record-breaking success in New Mexico, Zanskar, with the industry's leading portfolio of greenfield geothermal projects under development, is poised to deliver gigawatts of clean, firm, cost-competitive power faster than anyone thought possible at a time when the U.S. is in immediate need of clean, firm, cost-competitive baseload power.

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zanskar, the first AI-native geothermal energy company using AI to transform how we find, assess, and deliver geothermal energy, today announced its second deep geothermal discovery, at a site called “Pumpernickel,” in Northern Nevada. This discovery is one of the most significant geothermal discoveries in the U.S. of the last decade, proving both reservoir temperature and permeability. Now confirmed with deep drilling, Pumpernickel will move into full power development, whereby Zanskar will drill and construct production and injection wells and a power plant to deliver power into the grid. The first phase of development is expected to deliver power within just three years.

Pumpernickel further proves that there is enormous untapped potential at hydrothermal (i.e., “conventional” geothermal) resources in the United States. Conventional geothermal resources are proven to deliver cost-competitive, clean, firm power, but only if you know where to find them. Using artificial intelligence, advanced geoscience modeling, and modern data collection methods, Zanskar, already a top geothermal power producer in the United States, is countering the dominant industry narrative that Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are the only pathway forward for geothermal growth.

"Our team’s ability to execute with these AI tools and precision drilling is unparalleled," said Carl Hoiland, Co-founder and CEO at Zanskar, "Our vertically-integrated, AI-native approach to geothermal development is delivering the speed to discovery and speed to development necessary to meet the new paradigm of rapid energy demand growth. These latest deep drilling results only further confirm what we've known all along: conventional geothermal resources are far more abundant and bigger than previously believed and are the lowest-cost route to delivering gigawatts of reliable, carbon-free, baseload power at scale."

Pumpernickel is the latest example of Zanskar’s high-confidence targeting approach to geothermal, and the company is actively drilling a deep bench of newly found geothermal sites. The discovery follows Zanskar’s success at Lightning Dock in New Mexico, now home to the most productive pumped geothermal well in the U.S., and quite possibly the world. Zanskar, as owner-operator, turned the well field from failing to world-beating in less than a year from acquisition.

“At Zanskar, our combination of modern, low-cost, field data collection and large compute geospatial models is proving that we can uncover geothermal resources others miss.” said Joel Edwards, Co-founder and CTO at Zanskar, “But claiming a site has power potential is a lot easier than proving it with a drill bit. Pumpernickel is the latest example of when we go where our models tell us, we deliver, and we're set up to do this over and over again.” .

The U.S. geothermal market is poised for more than 25x growth after decades of stagnation. With its geothermal discovery engine that is faster, cheaper, and more scalable, Zanskar has already reduced discovery costs per megawatt by an order of magnitude compared to inflation-adjusted costs incurred by geothermal's last major greenfield explorers. By demonstrating far more hidden geothermal sites than previously thought, and by showing that each site has far more power potential than perceived, Zanskar is proving that conventional geothermal power is anything but small, niche, and tapped out.

About Zanskar
Zanskar is the first AI-native geothermal energy company using AI to transform how we find, assess, and deliver geothermal energy. Combining artificial intelligence, modern drilling, and advanced geoscience modeling, Zanskar is unlocking value from forgotten, hidden, underutilized, or undiscovered geothermal fields that industry narratives would tell you are “tapped-out.” Following the success of Lightning Dock in New Mexico, already the most productive pumped geothermal well in the United States, and the recent exploratory drilling success at Pumpernickel in Nevada, Zanskar has a repeatable, scalable model that it's deploying across a growing portfolio of newly discovered or overlooked sites to develop, build, own, and operate high-grade geothermal assets as a foundational component of the modern grid. Learn more: https://www.zanskar.com/

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