Deep Isolation and its partners have built a first prototype of a nuclear waste disposal canister. It’s an important step toward a working system to safely dispose of spent fuel in boreholes deep beneath the Earth’s surface.

Deep Isolation and partners including the Nuclear AMRC have completed the manufacture of a full-size prototype canister for the safe geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in deep boreholes.

Pairing a used fuel recycling facility with deep borehole disposal technology could reduce the total volume of waste requiring disposal in a deep geologic repository by greater than 90%, a study by Deep Isolation and SHINE Technologies has found.

Fermi Energia, an Estonian company pioneering the use of small modular reactor (SMR) technology to support energy security and a net-zero energy market for Estonia, has announced that it has selected Deep Isolation’s technology as its solution for storage and disposal of SMR spent fuel.

Eestisse tuumajaama rajamise eest seisev Fermi Energia ja USA radioaktiivsete materjalide ning tuumajäätmete geoloogilise ladustamisega tegelev ettevõte Deep Isolation otsustasid jätkata Eestisse tuumajäätmete lõppladustuse rajamise uuringuid.

Eestisse tuumajaama rajamise eest seisev Fermi Energia ja USA radioaktiivsete materjalide ning tuumajäätmete geoloogilise ladustamisega tegelev ettevõte Deep Isolation sõlmisid kolmapäeval koostööleppe jätkamaks põhjalikke uuringuid tuumajäätmete süvapuurauk-tehnoloogial põhineva lõppladustuse rajamiseks Eestisse.

An Estonian company pioneering the use of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology to support energy security and a net-zero energy market for Estonia, today announced that it has selected Deep Isolation’s technology as its solution for storage and disposal of SMR spent fuel. The two companies today have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly drive forward the development of SMRs in Estonia supported by a safe and scalable solution for the resulting spent fuel.

Estonia’s government may decide next year if it will build a nuclear power plant and is studying several sites across the country to see if any are suitable. Fermi Energia has already investigated deep borehole disposal with Deep Isolation as a waste management option.

Deep Isolation announced this week that it has received funding from the Department of Energy to test a range of deep borehole disposal canisters at a test facility in Cameron, Texas, managed by the nonprofit Deep Borehole Demonstration Center.

Today in our climate news section, “This Week In Climate”, we look at how Oppenheimer is bringing nuclear power to the forefront of the cultural conversation around climate tech.