Superhot rock: a first look at Uzbekistan’s deepest heat

Preliminary modelling by Clean Air Task Force and the University of Twente suggests that tapping 1% of the resource could match almost all of the country’s 2021 electricity use.

June 2025

Map of Uzbekistan coloured by modelled depth to superhot rock, with bars showing 2, 2 and 5 GW for the 5–7.5, 7.5–10 and 10–12.5 km depth bands — Modelled depth to superhot rock, and the capacity (GW) that 1% of the resource could provide in each depth band. Source: Clean Air Task Force (2025), Figure 1. Original document

Superhot rock geothermal targets rock above about 374 °C, where water becomes supercritical and carries far more energy. That rock lies kilometres down, and the technology to reach it is still being developed.

Clean Air Task Force (CATF) published a regional assessment for Uzbekistan based on preliminary modelling with the University of Twente, covering depth bands from 5 km to beyond 12.5 km. Its headline estimate: developing just 1% of the resource could provide about 8 GW of capacity and over 69,871 GWh of electricity a year, about 98% of Uzbekistan’s 2021 consumption of 71,362 GWh.

The assessment also estimates land use of about 12 km² per gigawatt, compared with about 160 km² for natural gas and 180 km² for solar.

Read it carefully

These are modelled, national-level figures, not a resource survey, and the assessment doesn’t name specific regions. They show the scale of what may lie at depth. Deep drilling and measurement would be needed to confirm it.

Sources

Superhot Rock Geothermal in Uzbekistan: regional assessment (PDF)Clean Air Task Force
Superhot rock geothermal: glossaryClean Air Task Force

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