In the scrubby desert of western Nevada, nothing on the surface suggests the energy lying beneath. Utah-based startup Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals recently announced it discovered a 250-degree Fahrenheit geothermal reservoir using artificial intelligence. The company named the site Big Blind, reflecting its status as a “blind” system, which shows no surface signs of geothermal activity and has not been explored before.
Big Blind is the first blind site discovered by the industry in over 30 years. Carl Hoiland, co-founder and CEO of Zanskar, explained that the common belief that geothermal resources are depleted is inaccurate. He expects many more hidden sites across the western United States. Geothermal energy is a near-limitless and constant source of power. Unlike solar or wind, it does not depend on the weather and produces almost no carbon emissions. The challenge has been finding and scaling these underground reservoirs.
Geothermal systems require specific underground conditions, including porous rocks and reservoirs of hot water or steam that can be brought to the surface to generate power. In the 1970s and 1980s, oil and gas companies invested heavily in drilling for these systems. By the mid-1980s, many abandoned the effort due to high costs and low success rates.
Joel Edwards, co-founder and CTO of Zanskar, describes the search for these systems as a classic needle-in-a-haystack problem. There is no single indicator for a blind geothermal system. The startup’s AI models analyze decades of data from known sites and integrate information such as rock composition, heat flow, and magnetic fields to identify potential reservoirs. Drilling over the summer confirmed that Big Blind contains hot, porous rock suitable for commercial energy production.
Zanskar estimates that electricity from Big Blind could be generated within three to five years, pending permitting and grid connection. Experts see the discovery as significant. James Faulds, professor of geosciences at the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, points out that three-quarters of US geothermal resources are blind, suggesting a vast untapped potential in the western states alone.
Government studies from 2008 estimated undiscovered geothermal resources in the United States could provide around 30 gigawatts of power. Zanskar believes the real figure could be at least ten times higher. Over the past three years, the startup has identified numerous additional hotspots with similar characteristics to Big Blind.
Beyond its energy potential, geothermal is gaining political support. Unlike solar and wind, it has largely avoided regulatory scrutiny and is expected to grow rapidly. Zanskar’s approach uses conventional geothermal techniques combined with modern data analysis to uncover sites that have been hidden for decades.
This discovery is part of what some experts are calling a geothermal renaissance. While next-generation geothermal methods, including enhanced drilling techniques, are gaining attention, Zanskar demonstrates that traditional methods still have untapped potential. Success at Big Blind may serve as a model for the industry and encourage further investment.
For everyday people, these developments mean that more of the energy powering homes, businesses, and even data centers could come from a clean, constant, and domestic source. Geothermal energy could reduce reliance on fossil fuels, stabilize electricity costs, and contribute to climate goals without major lifestyle changes.
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The Quantinuum Helios quantum computer is the latest leap toward practical quantum power. Built to push beyond the limits of today’s machines, it could soon help scientists discover new materials, design better medicines, and rethink how computers learn.
Developed by Quantinuum, Helios is a trapped-ion quantum computer, meaning it uses charged atoms as the smallest possible units of information. These atoms, called qubits, can hold multiple values at once, giving them the ability to explore countless outcomes simultaneously.
Helios marks a turning point because it has 96 qubits, nearly double its predecessor. It does this without losing the accuracy that makes trapped-ion systems the most reliable in the field. In essence, the Quantinuum Helios quantum computer can run bigger experiments and produce cleaner results than ever before.
What makes Helios different
Inside the machine, ions float above a gold chip that looks like a tiny racetrack. They travel through narrow channels, guided by electric signals. When the right ions line up, they interact to perform calculations.
David Hayes, Quantinuum’s director of computational design, compared it to spinning a hard drive. “We spin the ions in a loop. When the one we want gets close to the junction, we pull it aside, perform the operation, and send it back into the loop.”
This movement keeps operations fast and prevents errors. It also allows scientists to connect any two qubits, a key step toward the complex networks needed for future breakthroughs.
What it means for the real world
The Quantinuum Helios quantum computer is not a theoretical experiment. It is a working tool that can already simulate how matter behaves at the smallest scales. Those simulations could lead to advances that affect daily life.
Energy and superconductors
Helios is being used to model how electrons form pairs inside superconductors. These materials carry electricity with zero loss, but most only work at extreme cold. If quantum simulations lead to room-temperature superconductors, the impact would be enormous.
Power lines that never waste energy, Magnetic trains that float friction-free, Data centers that run cooler and faster
Medicine and chemistry
Quantum computers can simulate molecules with precision that classical computers cannot match. With Helios, researchers could test how drugs bind to proteins before ever running a lab experiment. That could shorten the path to new treatments for complex diseases.
Artificial intelligence
Future versions of the Quantinuum Helios quantum computer may train AI systems to detect patterns that ordinary computers cannot find. It could improve climate models, financial forecasts, and medical diagnostics by working through possibilities in parallel.
Cybersecurity
Quantum power can break traditional encryption, but machines like Helios also help design quantum-safe systems that can protect future networks. This makes Helios part of the solution, not the threat.
How Helios works in simple terms
Helios operates using a “loop and leg” design. Think of it like cars driving around a circular track. When one car reaches the right spot, it turns down a side road, performs a quick task, then merges back onto the main loop.
This design keeps traffic flowing and reduces the time needed for each operation. It also prepares the system for future versions that will use grid-like layouts, connecting hundreds of qubits together like city streets.
Developers can already write code for Helios using Guppy, Quantinuum’s Python-based software kit. It lets programmers control qubits using familiar commands such as “if” and “for”, the same logic used in everyday coding.
The path ahead
Helios is part of a larger roadmap leading to fully error-corrected quantum systems. These future machines could run continuously, like cloud servers, without losing data.
Jenni Strabley, Quantinuum’s vice president, said that every run helps refine the design. “Each time the ions move through the junction, we learn. That reliability carries forward into every next generation.”
For now, Helios is being used to simulate superconductivity, study quantum algorithms, and test new compiler tools that translate human code into quantum commands. It is a bridge between research and real-world impact.
As quantum technology matures, machines like the Quantinuum Helios quantum computer will move from labs to industries, reshaping energy systems, medicine, and artificial intelligence. The era of practical quantum computing is no longer a concept. It has started.
Read the original coverage at Ars Technica.
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