ZEMANIUM
00 · the superhot room

Welcome

Zemanium qualifies what nobody can certify: the duty-cycle rating and verification layer that makes superhot geothermal buildable. Everything on these pages is modeled to the metal and judged by gate checkers. Zero hours of hardware at duty have been measured, and the priced run order that changes that is in section 07.

Read this room in one sitting or drop into any section. The reading path below mirrors the navigation. Two things carry it: the evidence, labeled at every number, and the stop rules, written before the spend.

126
build-wave tests green
qa/next-stage-build-2026-10-02.json, rerun 2026-10-03
163
engine contracts green
107 + 7 + 49, reconciled 2026-10-02
0
measured duty hours
of 5 hardware measurements — benches confirm next
$550k–1.0M
to decisive evidence
assumed spend ranges, every dollar tied to a kill criterion
01 the case → 02 the wall → 03 the instrument → 04 the machines → 05 the next wave → 06 the numbers → 07 the test readiness → 08 the risks → 09 the moat → 10 what money buys → 11 the team → 12 the words → 13 the disclosures
Ladder chart: spec rows 61.65 to 29.80 dollars per MWh against real-cost rows R5P 30.44, R5C 45.72, R6S 37.19, R6T 31.11, R6D 24.58
Two series, one model. The spec rows are audited arithmetic; the real-cost rows are simulated at first-principles conversion. The room never merges them (CLAIM-TRACE S4).
Diligence drawer — the records behind this room
Every number in this room resolves to a record. The virtual-push results were produced in this session and judged by the same gate checkers that will judge the benches.
The fastest way to test what you read: a two-hour technical session — run the gate checkers, open the records, argue with the falsifiers.
01 · the superhot room

The case

We qualify what nobody can certify: the duty-cycle rating plus verification layer for superhot wells. It opens the economics in one sentence — temperature buys the point, capital buys the cushion.

Superhot resource turns geothermal from a site business into a product business, only if somebody certifies the hardware that survives it. That certification does not exist above 350 °C. Building it is the company.

$37.19
R6S nominal $/MWh — 500 °C at today's cost class
SIMULATED, assumes 294 kg/s deliverability
$45.72
R5C nominal $/MWh — 320 °C at real conversion cost
SIMULATED, holds $30 in 0% of both boxes
$24.58
R6D nominal $/MWh — the solved design point
SIMULATED, holds $30 in 80% of the declared box
77–99.9%
R6S holds the $45 band across declared boxes
77.0% declared box, 99.9% contract box — never probabilities

The ladder is one audited model, not a promise. Its rows are different project definitions and are never added together. The spec series says what would have to become true; the real-cost series says what the same project costs once the conversion physics and quoted-cost classes are honest. The reinforced run reproduces the audited $29.80 row exactly — to nine decimal places — before it re-prices anything.

Box chart of R5P, R5C, R6S, R6T, R6D with p05 to p95 ranges
p05/p50/p95 boxes from the declared stress box and the contract box. Boxes are declared ranges, not probabilities (CLAIM-TRACE S1).

The mission number is a design spec, not a forecast. R6D is the surface cost (about $970 per gross-kW) that would have to land for a 500 °C doublet to hold $30 across 80% of the declared stress box and 99.9% of the contract box. The contract box assumes fixed-price EPC and long-tenor de-risked debt. It is a commercial structure, not an engineering result.

The prize is temperature. The wall is what temperature does to wells.
02 · the superhot room

Why superhot, why now, why still unbuilt

Superhot rock carries the densest geothermal energy on the planet and nobody produces from it. The rock is reachable. Wells die of transients, and nothing at this duty has a certificate.

Above 374.1 °C and 22.06 MPa water stops boiling and starts behaving like a dense fluid. ARPA-E calls that superhot. About two dozen wells have touched it. None has produced from dry superhot rock.

Temperature-duty chart: tested and certified ranges against the superhot spec case
Temperature against qualification: connection testing stops at 350 °C, the duty classes climb, and the superhot rows live above the line where no certificate exists.
IDDP-2 timeline: 2,500 m start, 176 drilling days to 4,659 m, 426 to 427 degrees C logged, 535 degrees C after cold-water stimulation, flow test lost to casing damage
IDDP-2, measured (W1B-014/015). The duty design comes from how it failed.
IDDP-2 · first meeting

The well that is the market's failure and our thesis in one object. It drilled to 4,659 m in 176 drilling days, logged 426–427 °C at 340 bar while drilling, and reached 535 °C after a five-month cold-water stimulation. Then one unplanned thermal transient damaged the casing above 2,300–2,400 m and the entire flow test was lost. Not temperature. A cycle.

The 20-well record says the same thing in the aggregate: casing collapse and connection rupture from thermally induced stress during quench or kick-off. A single quench of 350 K drives fully constrained axial stress to about 931 MPa against L-80 yield of 552 MPa. The assembly, not the steel grade, is the design problem.

The commercial wall is the certificate. Thermal-service connection testing stops at 350 °C. Between 375 and 400 °C there is no qualification service to buy. Every superhot project is therefore first-of-a-kind by definition, and priced like it.

The wall is not materials. It is that nothing has been qualified at this duty.
03 · the superhot room

The instrument — simulation-first qualification

Every invention runs a virtual qualification campaign before any metal. One decision rule judges simulated and physical evidence alike. Failure publishes as a named redesign lever.

This is how we work and what we sell at the bottom: a qualification layer. Pre-registered falsifiers, frozen predictions, gate checkers, hashed records. The bench confirms the prediction; it does not gate our ability to have results.

Evidence flow diagram: virtual to bench to field with gate checkers at the boundaries
Evidence flow with the gate checkers at every hand-off. The same checker judges the virtual campaign and the bench record.
Verification chain diagram with six steps
Verification chain: measure, correct, command, actuate, verify, record. E9 runs it end to end under injected faults.
gate checkerwhat it judgescontracts
assembly_gate.pyE7 campaign record vs frozen duty specA1–A11
loop_gate.pyE9 bench run vs frozen task setL1–L8
well_cost_case.pyE8 cost case stability (E8-F1)W1–W5
record_validator.pywitnessed record integrity (Q platform)C1–C10
latch_campaign.pyE1 latch campaign (bench + virtual)one decision rule
Diligence drawer — run the instrument yourself
All five checkers are in the repo and runnable in one command each. This room's virtual-push records were judged by them, unmodified.
The instrument produces machines. Here they are.
04 · the superhot room

The machines (E0–E5)

Five mechanisms, each with a frozen gate, a frozen prediction and an honest status. Sensing, command, chemistry, drilling control and the moving pressure seal — the bottleneck set for superhot duty.

The renders below come from the actual CAD geometry of each package. Nothing is invented; the status labels travel with the parts.

E1 Shift-Latch · held
E1 Shift-Latch · held
SL-D01-A mechanism demonstrator — geometry true. A compression-loaded folding brace holds the gate shut until a command removes the trigger. Status: MECHANISM_DEMONSTRATOR_GEOMETRY_ONLY; no pressure or temperature rating is claimed.
E1 Shift-Latch · released
E1 Shift-Latch · released
Full travel 56 mm, window open, passage restored. Zero solid interference at both states and across the motion sweep (geometry record in-package).
E1 Shift-Latch · exploded
E1 Shift-Latch · exploded
Part IDs from bom.csv. The printed trigger bridge stands in for the chemically removed calcite trigger and is consumed per command.
machinejobfrozen gatefrozen prediction (P-row)status
E0downhole sensing (waveguide profiler)±5 °C through 500 h at 450 °C with in-situ drift correctionP-E0-01readout demo + digital furnace, 37 tests green
E1commanded release (the latch)hold → command → full travel → ≥90% conductance recoveryP-E1-01demonstrator built; window class 54–138 µm
E2chemistry control (scale)separated brine deposit rate ≈ 0 (<10% of the SSI-1.5 class)P-E2-01 / P-E2-02six architectures ranked A–F; selection rules frozen
E3conversion (flash + binary)scope-matched operating map within 0.90–1.15× the audited anchorP-E3-01 / P-E3-02mechanism selected 2026-10-02; RFQ open
E4drilling control (BHCT)duty band held at the worst corner (0.1 K margin)—band held at worst corner (virtual)
E5moving pressure sealleak rate held through designed stroke at 250/300/320 °C cyclesP-E5-01seal claim blocked prior art; method sells
E5 moving pressure boundary · TS-M01-A cutaway
E5 moving pressure boundary · TS-M01-A cutaway
Collar travel +60/−20 mm over the sealed interface. Honest status: seal interface UNRESOLVED_SUPPLIER_CARTRIDGE, pressure and temperature ratings unknown until the cartridge is qualified.
E2 witness-coupon rack · SP-R01
E2 witness-coupon rack · SP-R01
Removable witness coupons for deposit-rate measurement. Dry-fit development geometry only — no physical build, no rating claimed.
Shift valve cell · exploded
Shift valve cell · exploded
Dry-fit development geometry, exploded on the generator's own offsets. Shapes unchanged.

The demonstrator and the duty hardware are drawn in the same language on purpose. A mechanism that only works in a rendering is a poster; a mechanism that survives its gate is a machine.

Five machines prove the method. The next wave proves the industry.
05 · the superhot room

The next wave (E6–E9 + Q)

Two builds, one map, one cost case and one yardstick: O-01 whole-well assembly, O-02 loop bench, O-03 confined-flow map, O-04 matched-bit cost case, O-05 the Q qualification record.

Every item here is modeled to the bench: frozen specs, gate checkers written, fixtures designed, RFQs drafted. Section 07 prices the run order.

IDDP-2 · second meeting — the duty table

The same well sets the requirements. Its measured envelope (426–535 °C, 30 MPa class, acid condensate, one destructive transient) is why the O-01 campaign cycles 100 times between 500 and 150 °C at 30 MPa with a 500-hour hold, and why the chemistry classes are HCl/HF condensate, CO₂ and H₂S. The worst event in the record becomes the test plan.

O-01 whole-well assembly campaign (E7)
spec frozen, gate checker green, RFQ drafted
qa E7 campaign record
O-02 loop bench + fault injection (E9)
task set frozen, channel budget done
qa E9 loop record
O-03 confined-flow map (E6)
asks drafted (EPFL/ESRF, Bedretto/OU, EGI/FORGE class)
E6 map record
O-04 matched-bit cost case (E8)
desk case runs; INDETERMINATE published
E8 cost inputs
O-05 Q qualification record (Q)
record format + validator live; lab MOU scoping
DC-1 witnessed record
Duty timeline: 100 thermal cycles between 500 and 150 degrees C at 30 MPa, then a 500-hour hold, with checkpoint markers
DC-4 duty, frozen before fabrication (E7-DC4-DUTY-SPEC-REV0). Checkpoints: leak and stroke at 1, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 cycles; destructive strength at 50 and 100.
E7 specimen kit · assembled
E7 specimen kit · assembled
Envelope geometry from the frozen spec: casing segment 219.1 × 300 mm class, cement sheath 273 × 300 mm, connection collar 245 × 120 mm, E5 stack envelope 80 × 30 × 8 mm, end plates 320 × 320 × 20 mm. Status: CONCEPT_SPECIMEN_GEOMETRY_ONLY — not a fabrication drawing.
E7 specimen kit · exploded
E7 specimen kit · exploded
Parts P-1 to P-6, exploded for presentation. Kit clearance 1.0 mm.
E8 Pareto chart with process costs and top-share line against the 0.90 stability threshold
E8 limiter ranking from the desk case. The verdict is INDETERMINATE and stays INDETERMINATE across every robustness variant (VP4) — so we stop claiming a lever until the matched-bit tests name one.
Everything here is modeled to the bench. Here is exactly how ready.
06 · the superhot room

Evidence & numbers

This is what the models measured and how to read it. Boxes are declared stress ranges, never probabilities. Spec rows and real-cost rows are two series. Both windows are reported, including the 0% rows.

Every number carries its label: measured, simulated, assumed, proposed or unknown. A simulated number reads SIMULATED everywhere it appears.

How to read these numbers

  • Every number carries a label: measured, simulated, assumed, proposed or unknown. SIMULATED reads SIMULATED everywhere.
  • Box fractions are shares of a declared stress range, never probabilities. 80% of a box is not an 80% chance.
  • Spec rows and real-cost rows are two series. Ladder rows are different project definitions and are never added.
  • The 0% rows stay visible. A result that does not hold is published with the ones that do.
  • Pump and treatment electricity is charged against net electricity and never folded into recovered heat.
Three-panel deliverability chart: LCOE versus flow from 50 to 294 kg/s for 12-inch, audited and 7-inch completions
VP1 deliverability map (this session, SIMULATED): pumping-charged LCOE against flow for three completion classes. At IDDP-class 50 kg/s only the design row holds $45 nominal; the today-cost row needs at least 100 kg/s.
readingnumberlabel
R6S at IDDP-class flow (50 kg/s)$46.28/MWh nominal chargedSIMULATED — band missed at today's cost class
R6T at IDDP-class flow (50 kg/s)$40.20/MWh nominal chargedSIMULATED — holds the band nominal
R6D at IDDP-class flow (50 kg/s)$33.67/MWh nominal chargedSIMULATED — design point holds
wellbore pump, 7 in at 294 kg/s29.14 MW — 12.7% of grossSIMULATED (GEOPHIRES cross-check)
wellbore pump, 12 in at 294 kg/s0.67 MW — 0.3% of grossSIMULATED (GEOPHIRES cross-check)

Pump and treatment electricity stays separate from recovered output. The chart charges it against net electricity and never folds it into heat. The two completion classes differ by a factor of 43 in pumping power, and no measured hydraulics exists at 500 °C — that is what section 08 prices.

Numbers say what is known. The next section says what would change them.
07 · the superhot room

Test readiness — modeled to the metal

Per program: frozen spec, gate checker green, fixture designed, RFQ drafted, prediction frozen, cost stated, run order set. This is what ready to start testing looks like before the spend.

Nothing below waits on a decision of ours except the sends. Each run freezes its prediction before it starts and is judged by the same gate checker that judged the virtual campaign.

Run order timeline with items 7, 6, 5, 8, 9 and their cost ranges
Run order 7 → 6 → 5 → 8 → 9, cheapest decisive measurement first (next-stage/HUMAN-QUEUE.md §2, assumed cost ranges).
IDDP-2 · third meeting — the measurement that was missing

Every item in this dossier is the measurement IDDP-2 did not have. The 500-hour keystone run prices the first one at $5–15k. The O-01 campaign cycles the exact assembly class that failed above 2,300 m. The loop bench proves the control that manages transients instead of surviving them. Frozen predictions go in before any of it runs.

E7 · O-01 assembly campaign
frozen: E7-DC4-DUTY-SPEC-REV0 (100 cycles, 30 MPa, 500 h)
gate: assembly_gate.py — 12 scenarios green in VP2
fixture: specimen kit geometry frozen (CONCEPT_SPECIMEN_GEOMETRY_ONLY)
RFQ: drafted (build/e7-assembly/RFQ-TEXT.md), teaches no mechanism
prediction: P-rows frozen 2026-10-02
cost: $200–450k (assumed) · run: item 5, third in order
E9 · O-02 loop bench
frozen: E9-TASKSET-REV0 (deadlines 30/5/30/10 s)
gate: loop_gate.py — 9 scenarios + deadline flip exactly at the frozen values (VP3)
fixture: channel budget + fault-injection plan done
RFQ: sensor-vendor comparison request drafted
prediction: safe-state times frozen before the run
cost: $60–180k (assumed) · run: item 6, second in order
E8 · O-04 matched-bit tests
frozen: E8 INPUTS.md declared inputs, no invented maturity
gate: well_cost_case.py — INDETERMINATE held across 6 variants (VP4)
fixture: matched-bit test spec from O-04 brief
RFQ: to follow the independent review
prediction: top limiter named or the claim stays stopped
cost: $80–150k (assumed) · run: item 9, last in order

What this session squeezed virtual (VP1–VP7)

Seven pushes ran here, each judged by the real gate checkers, each recorded in qa/room-virtual-*.json with its seeds, assumptions and hash-bound sources. Deliverability and completion hydraulics are now bounded with numbers. The E7 and E9 gates were walked through pass, leak, growth, lockup, strength, laundering and unlabeled paths — every cheat caught by a named contract, every silent failure refused. The E8 INDETERMINATE survived wider boxes and three leave-one-anchor-out variants. The stroke divergence is charted and resolves as a strain reading the campaign will verify. The duty-class corners nobody has run are enumerated with their (basis, duty state, hours) rows.

Diligence drawer — the virtual-push records
Every push is reproducible from its recorded seed.
The stop rules were written before the spend.
08 · the superhot room

Risk framework

Six open risks, each with what kills it, what confirms it and what it costs to find out. Breached falsifiers publish as redesign levers. The 0% rows stay visible.

The risks below are the ones a technical reader will find anyway. Better they find ours first, with the kill criteria attached.

IDDP-2 · fourth meeting — the transient, priced

One unplanned quench killed the flow test. That single event is risk row one at the assembly level: the fully constrained stress of a 350 K quench runs about 931 MPa against 552 MPa yield. Compliant stroke (E5, E7) and transient-rate management are the levers. Higher-grade steel alone is not.

riskwhat kills itwhat confirms itcost to find outstatus
1 superhot deliverability (294 kg/s assumed vs ~50 kg/s IDDP-class)a producer well delivering doublet-class flowO-03 confined-flow map + deliverability logs$80–250k (item 8)bounded in VP1: at 50 kg/s only R6D holds $45 nominal
2 completion hydraulics (7 in vs 12 in, 43× pumping swing)measured hydraulics on the modeled doubletO-02 loop bench + first completion logs$60–180k (item 6)charge quantified in VP1: 12.7% of gross at 7 in
3 E8 cost limiter INDETERMINATEa stable top limiter across the declared rangesO-04 matched-bit ROP/bit-life tests$80–150k (item 9)robustly INDETERMINATE across 6 VP4 variants
4 stroke-number divergence (25.8 vs 2.5–3 mm per 10 m)the campaign measuring which reading the hardware needsE7 stroke checkpoints (cycles 1–100)inside item 5charted in VP6; resolves as relief strain 2.58e-3
5 conversion cost classes unquoted (RFQ can halve or double)a scope-matched vendor offer inside the bandE3 RFQ offers vs P-E3-02 (≤$1,400/gross-kW)$0 to askmechanism selected; RFQ is the open item
6 escalation factor ±0.15 assumption (×1.60, 2007→2025 USD)a quoted escalation basis from the vendorsRFQ price basis review$0 to askmoves every cost anchor about ±$130/gross-kW
Risk matrix with six risks plotted by blast radius against cost to resolve
Blast radius × cost to resolve. Positions are the reading of the records (inference), not measurements.
Stroke envelope chart: stroke required per 10 m against quench delta T for L-80 and TN125SS grades
VP6 stroke envelope (this session, SIMULATED): the model needs 25.8 mm per 10 m at the S1 quench class; the E7 brief quotes 2.5–3 mm per 10 m, which reads as relief strain 2.5–3e-3 and sits where the model says. The campaign decides which reading the hardware needs.

Stop rules are design features. The E7 gate stops after two consecutive breached checkpoints. The E8 case refuses to name a lever below the 0.90 stability threshold. The E5 seal filing halted when prior art blocked the claim, and the record says so.

The moat is what survives the risks: the method, the records, the maps.
09 · the superhot room

Moat & partnerships

The product is the rating method and the measured maps, not a single tool. The prior-art posture is honest: the sliding-seal claim is blocked by US 11,041,343; the method and the maps are ours to build.

Qualification is a permissioned operating record. Every campaign we run, witnessed and hashed, widens what we can certify and what a regulator or insurer will accept.

surfaceposturenote
duty-cycle rating methodproduct — protect by trade secret + published recordsthe qualification layer itself
measured duty maps (E1/E2/E6/E7/E8)product — first-look design-partner classexist only after the campaigns run
sliding-seal connector mechanismblocked claim — US 11,041,343 (expires 2038-03-25)filing halted; method and well-integrity engineering sell regardless
conversion mechanism (flash + binary)published literature class; cost-stack know-how is the edgeRFQ will confirm or break P-E3-02

What we open

  • the gate checkers and their contract lists
  • the frozen duty specs, task sets and P-row predictions
  • the record format and its validator
  • the failure maps and every breached falsifier
  • the run order and its assumed costs

What we keep

  • unfiled claim-surface mechanism detail (R-20) until the filing call
  • names and partner identities without signed roles and consent

Partner routes are named by class, not by logo: national lab and hot-rock facility class (Sandia/Welltec/NER), university deep-underground lab class (EPFL/ESRF, Bedretto/OU), operator replay class (EGI/FORGE), and independent test-house class for the witnessed records. Named partners appear only with consent and a signed role.

What money buys next is not people or offices. It is measurements.
10 · the superhot room

What money buys next

$550k–1.0M of decisive evidence. Every line item closes a named gate or kills a named claim. Milestones are frozen predictions closing, not activity.

The table is the human queue (next-stage/HUMAN-QUEUE.md). Assumed cost ranges, human approval on every spend above the batch rule.

spendcost (assumed)the gate it closes
O-01 assembly specimens + campaign$200–450kE7-F1..F6 — the duty-cycle rating itself
O-02 loop fixtures + fault injection$60–180kE9-F1..F4 — control value and silent-failure refusal
E0/E9 500 h at 450 °C keystone run$5–15kDC-1 — P-E0-01, the cheapest decisive measurement
O-03 confined-flow campaign (partner-led)$80–250kE6-F1..F5 — the deliverability map
O-04 matched-bit ROP/bit-life tests$80–150kE8-F1 — naming the cost limiter or staying stopped
patent agent, rating-method surface$320–640the filing call on the method surface
$5–15k
first decisive run (500 h keystone)
assumed range; freezes P-E0-01 against measurement
7 → 6 → 5 → 8 → 9
run order
cheapest decisive measurement first
$550k–1.0M
total to decisive evidence
sum of assumed ranges, not a budget quote
The team builds the machines and owns the yardstick.
11 · the superhot room

Team & firm

A founding team builds the machines and owns the yardstick. Names publish only with a signed role and consent — none are published in this room.

Missions, not headcount. Each one is a piece of the company someone will own end to end.

Own the technology
Set the technical direction. Build the team.
Build the machines
E0–E9 from frozen spec to qualified duty record.
Own the yardstick
The Q platform: records, validators, ratings.
Field transfer
Turn measured maps into drilled and monitored wells.
Command the whole machine
Software, sensing and control for the fleet.

The people registry holds the research and outreach record. It publishes nothing here: the disclosure line for names is a signed role plus consent, and that gate is human-only.

The vocabulary of the field is small. Here it is.
12 · the superhot room

Glossary

The words used in this room, defined once, the way the records use them.
duty-cycle rating
a qualified statement of cycles and hours at a stated temperature, pressure and chemistry — not a service-life claim
DC-1 … DC-7
the duty classes of the Q platform: instruments, flow-control devices, sensing, casing assemblies, conversion hardware, chemistry, seals
quench / kick-off
the transients that kill wells: cold circulation or restart against hot rock. Cycles, never continuous temperature
BDT
brittle–ductile transition: where rock stops fracturing and starts creeping. E6's hardest assumption sits here
supercritical vs superheated
above 374.1 °C and 22.06 MPa water is a dense supercritical fluid; hot steam below that pressure is superheated. Temperature alone decides nothing
ladder rows
different project definitions in one audited model — never summed, never additive
declared box
a declared engineering stress range sampled uniformly; a fraction of it is never a probability
SIMULATED vs measured
SIMULATED is model output on declared inputs; measured is an instrument record with a witness
P-row
a frozen prediction: number, tolerance and hash-pinned record, dated before the run
kill criterion
the pre-committed condition that stops a program or kills a claim — written before the spend
One more page: what we are not claiming.
13 · the superhot room

Disclosures + standing offer

What this room is not claiming: measured duty performance, a funded raise, guaranteed economics, or a service life for any assembly.
Label law

Every number carries its label. A simulated number reads SIMULATED everywhere it appears. A mislabeled number is fraud risk; a labeled one is an asset.

Sims are sims

Virtual qualification is design authority and pre-registration. It is not qualification — analysis alone cannot demonstrate that hardware survives duty (IEEE Std 323).

Zero measured duty hours

No hardware in this record has logged an hour at duty. Zero of five hardware measurements. The P-rows are what the benches will confirm or kill.

Forward-looking statements

Ladder rows, boxes, costs and schedules are plans and models on declared assumptions. They are not forecasts, offers or guarantees.

No offer

Nothing in this room is an offer of securities or a commitment to deliver hardware on any schedule.

Confidentiality

Unfiled claim-surface mechanism detail is withheld until the filing decision. Partner names appear only with consent.

Standing offer

Any gate checker can be run live in front of you. Any record in this room can be opened on request, with its hashes.