Deep Fission “approval” is for a drawing, not a “milestone”
Statement by Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project at Beyond Nuclear on Deep Fission’s announcement of approval of a Nuclear Safety Design Agreement under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Reactor Pilot Project created by a President Trump White House Executive Order.
“Deep Fission, a Berkeley, CA-based reactor startup company attempting to site micro nuclear power reactors in Parsons, KS, is framing the approval of its Nuclear Safety Design Agreement by the DOE as a ‘milestone.’
“In reality, this is a questionable approval to continue the experimental development of an incomplete design for an unproven concept— the company’s proposal to commercially license 15 megawatt micro nuclear reactors without engineered severe accident radioactive containment systems for operation in one-mile deep boreholes. The boreholes are also intended for the indefinite long-term isolation of the reactors’ high-level radioactive nuclear waste by relying upon the natural rock body.
“A coalition of twelve Offices of Attorneys General warns that the federal agency’s February 2, 2026 decree, effective immediately, for the ‘categorically exclusion’ of new DOE reactors in the Reactor Pilot Project from the federal environmental review process, including Deep Fission, is “unlawful” and in violation of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974. Under the congressionally legislated Public Law and signed by the Office of the President, the DOE is prohibited from participating in the approval or licensing of “commercial” nuclear reactors, which is the sole purview of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Further, the community of Parsons was not informed of Deep Fission’s plan until the December 4, 2025 announcement of the December 9 groundbreaking ceremony. The power generation plan envisions a field of 100, or more, of congregated deep boreholes. The Gravity micro reactors will be commercially operated for a single fuel cycle (as short as two years), after which they will be buried in place and another reactor unit lowered down and stacked on top and so on. Deep Fission’s customers are intended to largely attract planned data centers and industrial parks.
“In making the announcement, Deep Fission describes itself as ‘an advanced nuclear energy company.’ In fact, Deep Fission is a startup company without experience in reactor design, construction or the operation of nuclear power plants. It is one of many in a crowded field of startup contenders, hoping to skirt stringent safety oversight and environmental protection regulations encouraged by the Trump administration’s rogue executive orders to fast-track reactor deployment while ignoring health, safety and environmental consequences and obfuscating the unpredictable and likely enormous costs to be largely shouldered by US taxpayers.”
REFERENCES
August 6, 2026, Deep Fission statement https://www.
March 4, 2026, twelve Offices of Attorneys General opposing the DOE categorical exclusion for Reactor Pilot Project reactor designs, https://oag.ca.gov/
February 2, 2026, Department of Energy’s “Notice of New Categorical Exclusion for Advanced Nuclear Reactors, and Request for Comment,” 91 Fed. Reg. 4,550, https://www.energy.gov/
Headline photo of the Deep Fission site in Parsons, Kansas, supplied by the Deep Fission media kit.
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