Nuclear Waste Innovator Deep Isolation Calls on 11 ‘First Mover States’ to Add Disposal to their Advanced Nuclear Orderbook Strategy

BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Deep Isolation Nuclear, Inc. (“Deep Isolation” or the “Company”), a leading innovator in nuclear waste disposal technology, today announced the submission of its response to the National Association of State Energy Officials’ (NASEO) consultation on its Advanced Nuclear First Movers Orderbook Strategy. The Strategy outlines how eleven ‘First Mover States’¹ are collaborating to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear power through an integrated orderbook supported by collaborative pathways for financing, siting, workforce, and supply chains. To date, the Strategy makes no mention of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste that will result – though the lack of a safe, permanent waste solution remains one of Americans’ top concerns about nuclear power.

Deep Isolation’s response sets out how this “missing piece” of the Orderbook Strategy can be filled. Its recommendations draw on consensus across the advanced reactor industry, as reflected in the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Action Plan for Transforming the Back End of the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Deep Isolation calls on NASEO to integrate USNIC’s recommendations into its Orderbook Strategy: working collaboratively with communities to accelerating innovative disposal technologies, launching near-term demonstrations, and mobilizing private investment through public-private partnerships and legislative reform. Together, these efforts strengthen the viability of the orderbook strategy by embedding disposal into the advanced nuclear lifecycle.

The submission highlights three specific calls to action for participating states:

• Join the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center, the non-profit at Cameron, Texas where Deep Isolation will deliver the world’s first full-scale non-radioactive deep borehole disposal pilot with initial canister emplacement targeted for 2027.
• Support early borehole demonstrations in their states, including via joint initiatives with DOE at federal laboratories such as INL or ORNL (consistent with President Trump’s mandate via Executive Order 14302 to leverage these sites for innovative nuclear demonstrations).
• Champion the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Back End Action Plan by advocating in Congress for legislative reforms that unlock innovation and public-private partnerships.
  

“We see a missing piece in this orderbook strategy – the absence of nuclear waste disposal. By embedding disposal into their Orderbook Strategy, First Mover States can reduce financial risk, increase investor confidence, and build public trust that advanced nuclear comes with a complete lifecycle solution,” said Rod Baltzer, CEO of Deep Isolation. “Deep Isolation’s technology can play a key role in this. We combine state-of-the-art drilling technology from our suppliers in the oil and gas sector with our proprietary, universal, disposal-ready canister system to provide the first genuinely scalable, flexible, and near-term solution for spent fuel and high-level waste. We stand ready to help First Mover States lead the way in solving the waste challenge at the same time as they pioneer new reactor deployment.”

According to the US Nuclear Industry Council, the U.S. has accumulated around 92,500 metric tons of SNF, growing by 2,000 metric tons annually. This waste is stored at over 70 sites across 35 states, in temporary facilities not designed for permanent, long-term containment — an estimated liability for U.S taxpayers of well over $150 billion that is increasing significantly every year.

The following echoed their support of Deep Isolation’s submission, and stand ready to work with Deep Isolation to deliver practical solutions for advanced reactor waste in First Mover States:

• “I strongly echo Deep Isolation’s recommendations to First Mover States about the need to integrate spent fuel and waste management into their order book strategy. As a multi-national, non-profit initiative, the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center is well positioned to offer science-based advice to First Mover States on the unique advantages that this safe, flexible, and scalable option brings for First Mover States and their nuclear host communities,” said Andy Griffith, Executive Director of the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center.
• “NAC International has partnered for many years with Deep Isolation to design and fabricate the Universal Canister System”, said Kent Cole CEO of NAC International.  “We are proud to integrate this exciting innovation with our existing licensed systems for storage and transportation and to partner with Deep Isolation in commercializing the UCS around the world.  We look forward to supporting the First Mover States to deliver a safe, integrated and cost-effective solution for their spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.””
• “Deep Isolation’s solution for storage, transport and safe geologic disposal of advanced reactor waste represents a unique asset for First Mover States looking to implement an integrated waste management strategy,” said Eric Knox, Vice President, Strategic Development at Amentum.  “As a licensed partner of Deep Isolation, Amentum is proud to support our clients in implementing that solution to the highest levels of nuclear safety and quality assurance.”
• “Navarro welcomes the initiative of eleven First Mover States, supported by NASEO, Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to coordinate their approach to the advanced reactor market. We strongly endorse Deep Isolation’s call for this orderbook strategy to set out clear pathways for permanent disposal of the radioactive waste from advanced reactors.  We stand ready to support this collaboration with Idaho and Tennessee, where Deep Isolation recently announced Navarro as its exclusive licensed partner for disposal projects including disposal demonstration,” said Dr. Susana Navarro, President and CEO of Navarro

About Deep Isolation
Deep Isolation is the first company to commercialize nuclear waste disposal in deep boreholes. It offers a uniquely tailored solution to help countries complete the necessary steps to dispose of their spent nuclear waste inventories. With 87 patents issued to date, Deep Isolation’s technology leverages proven drilling practices to safely isolate waste deep underground in horizontal, vertical, or slanted borehole repositories. Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System (UCS) was developed through a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and is engineered to support integrated management of spent fuel and high-level waste from advanced reactors across storage, transportation and eventual disposal.

For more information, visit: deepisolation.com

Media Contact:
Sophie McCallum
media@deepisolation.com

Investor Contact:
Caldwell Bailey
InvestorRelations@deepisolation.com

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking information” or “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our plans, objectives and expectations for our business, the future growth of our business and the nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal industries as a whole, and future benefits expected to arise from our strategic partnerships. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of words and phrases or statements such as “may,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “will,” “could,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “continue” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s belief and assumptions, including current expectations and projections about future events and trends, and on information currently available to management.

Forward-looking statements in this or any other news release are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and assumptions are subject to a number of factors, including, among others: the failure of a market to develop for our deep borehole disposal solutions as quickly as we expect or at all; regulatory and legal developments, including issues relating to obtaining regulatory approvals or permissions on the timelines we expect or at all; our lack of profitability; our failure to enter into contracts with customers or, once we do enter into contracts, to continue such contractual relationships or to receive new contract awards; our dependency on governmental contracts and awards; our  failure to manage our growth effectively or to execute our business plan; a failure to sustain and expand relationships with governmental entities and strategic partners; failure in the assumptions or analyses we have used in supporting forecasts or plans; our inability to commercialize our products at scale; the development or deployment of other technologies or solutions supplanting or competing with our technologies; challenges to our intellectual property, failures to protect, maintain, enforce, and enhance our intellectual property, and claims by others of intellectual property infringement;  political and public perceptions of nuclear energy, including perceptions as to accidents or other high-profile events involving nuclear power facilities or radioactive materials; our liquidity and ability to raise capital; any inability to control operating and project costs and project delays or other project-related problems; security (including cybersecurity) breaches or disruptions; geopolitical, macroeconomic, domestic events or crises, including supply chain disruptions and other risks and uncertainties outside of our control; weather and effects of climate change; and litigation or legal proceeds that may be brought against us.

The foregoing is not an exhaustive list of all the factors that may cause any forward-looking statements to prove inaccurate or our actual results to differ materially from our expectations and forecasts. Moreover, we operate in a highly regulated environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, and we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this release or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.

Additional information concerning the factors above and other factors will be found in the Company’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the sections titled “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 23, 2025 filed with the SEC on July 28, 2025 and in subsequent filings with the SEC. The Company’s SEC filings are available free of charge at www.sec.gov filed or upon written request to Deep Isolation Nuclear at InvestorRelations@deepisolation.com.

_{¹ Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming}

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.