Deep Fission taps Youngquist Brothers to drill 1-mile borehole for underground reactor

Nuclear startup Deep Fission is partnering with drilling contractor Youngquist Brothers to develop deep, large-diameter boreholes for placing small modular reactors about one mile underground. In September the companies lowered a 30-inch prototype reactor canister into a 34-inch borehole in Fort Myers, Florida, to roughly 100 feet. Commercial deployment is targeted as early as 2027.

• Borehole about one mile deep is needed to host the reactor
• Youngquist has drilled large-diameter holes beyond 8,000 feet
• On September 3 a prototype canister was lowered 100 feet into a 34-inch hole
• First reactor project is in Parsons, Kansas, under DOE program