Deep Fission, Youngquist Brothers Partner on Nuclear Borehole Drilling
Deep Fission, Inc. (Nasdaq: FISN), an advanced nuclear energy company developing a model for deploying small modular pressurized water reactors (SMRs) deep underground, has announced a collaboration with Youngquist Brothers, LLC, a commercial drilling contractor specializing in large-diameter boreholes.
The collaboration is intended to evaluate and test drilling technologies that could support Deep Fission’s underground reactor deployment model. The companies will work on methods for constructing large-diameter, deep boreholes designed to accommodate Deep Fission’s reactor systems, combining the nuclear company’s deployment approach with Youngquist Brothers’ experience in commercial drilling and borehole construction.
Deep Fission is developing a concept in which small modular reactors are installed approximately one mile underground inside specially constructed boreholes. The company believes that placing the reactors deep below the surface could allow surrounding geological formations and water to play important roles in the reactor system’s containment and cooling architecture.
As part of the collaboration, the companies are expected to advance and test techniques for drilling and constructing large-diameter boreholes at significant depths. The work is focused specifically on the engineering and construction requirements associated with Deep Fission’s underground deployment model.
A related equipment demonstration was successfully completed on September 3 in Fort Myers, Florida. During the demonstration, Deep Fission lowered and subsequently retrieved a 30-inch full-size prototype reactor canister inside a 34-inch borehole. The canister was lowered to a depth of approximately 100 feet using proprietary drilling technologies and equipment supplied by Youngquist Brothers.
The demonstration provided an opportunity to test the basic installation and retrieval mechanics associated with the underground reactor concept. The companies noted that the demonstration was conducted at a smaller depth than the full-depth drilling activities contemplated under their broader collaboration.
Liz Muller, CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Fission, said Youngquist Brothers’ extensive drilling background aligns with the requirements of the company’s deployment model. She emphasized that working with an established commercial drilling contractor provides Deep Fission with access to existing equipment, technical capabilities and field experience as it continues developing its underground reactor approach.
Youngquist Brothers brings decades of experience in large-diameter borehole drilling. The company has been involved in drilling projects involving boreholes reaching depths of more than 8,000 feet, providing experience that Deep Fission intends to leverage as it evaluates the feasibility of drilling the deep, large-diameter structures required for its reactor deployment model.
Harvey Youngquist, CEO of Youngquist Brothers, said the company has refined large-diameter drilling techniques since 1971. He noted that the collaboration gives Youngquist an opportunity to apply its commercial drilling experience to a nuclear energy application involving deep underground infrastructure.
The companies’ work centers on Deep Fission’s Gravity™ Nuclear Reactor, which is designed around established pressurized water reactor technology. The system is intended to use standard low-enriched uranium fuel while being deployed approximately one mile underground in a water-filled borehole.
According to Deep Fission, the underground environment is an integral part of its reactor deployment concept. The surrounding rock and water are intended to contribute to core safety and operating functions, including containment and cooling. Rather than relying solely on above-ground structures for these functions, the company’s approach incorporates the natural characteristics of the deep underground environment into its proposed reactor architecture.
The drilling collaboration therefore represents an important engineering component of the overall deployment strategy. Constructing a borehole capable of accommodating a nuclear reactor at significant depth requires attention to diameter, depth, stability, installation procedures and the ability to retrieve equipment when required. The September demonstration provided an initial test of the physical process for lowering and retrieving the prototype reactor canister.
The companies plan to continue their work on borehole drilling and testing as Deep Fission advances development of its underground nuclear reactor technology. Future activities are expected to focus on evaluating drilling approaches and construction methods that could potentially be scaled from demonstration activities toward the depths contemplated for commercial deployment.
Deep Fission’s development strategy is based on using small modular pressurized water reactor technology in a substantially different physical configuration from conventional above-ground nuclear facilities. By positioning the reactor deep underground, the company is pursuing a model intended to integrate reactor technology with deep geological infrastructure.
The partnership with Youngquist Brothers gives the project access to a contractor with long-standing experience in large-diameter drilling. Youngquist’s history of drilling boreholes to depths exceeding 8,000 feet is particularly relevant to Deep Fission’s objective of eventually deploying reactors approximately one mile underground.
For Deep Fission, continued drilling demonstrations and testing will help address the practical requirements of its underground reactor model. The company is targeting commercial deployment as early as 2027, making the development of suitable drilling and borehole-construction techniques a key part of its path toward that objective.
The latest collaboration represents another step in the development of Deep Fission’s underground nuclear energy concept. By combining established nuclear reactor technology with commercial drilling capabilities, the companies aim to determine how large-diameter, deep boreholes can be constructed and used as part of an underground SMR deployment system.
Further testing will provide additional information on the technical requirements associated with drilling, reactor installation and retrieval as Deep Fission works toward its planned commercial deployment timeline.
Source Link: https://www.businesswire.com/
