Deep Fission, a California-based advanced nuclear energy company has signed Letters of Intent advancing potential generation projects with a total capacity of up to 18.5 gigawatts, it said on Wednesday.
The non-binding agreements with data centers, co-developers, industrial parks, and strategic partners do not include commitments "to purchase electricity, finance projects, construct facilities, exclusivity, or deploy a specified number of reactors" and can be terminated without penalty, Deep Fission said.
The company is working on the development of underground small modular pressurized water reactors installed about mile beneath the surface, with its first reactor project advancing at the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, Kansas under the US Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program.
Deep Fission has finished drilling its first data acquisition borehole at a depth of about 6,000 feet and will next look to demonstrate the safe deployment of a prototype reactor inside a commercial-scale borehole, the statement said.
The company intends to apply for a commercial license with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in H1 2027 depending on continued technical progress, financing and regulatory approvals.