Deep Isolation launched a multi-year full-scale demonstration program this week for its nuclear waste disposal technology.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 28 at the Deep Borehole Demonstration, located at the Haliburton Drilling Technology Facility near Cameron, Texas. Deep Isolation said stakeholders across the nuclear industry, Texas state officials and Department of Energy (DOE) representatives attended.
The demonstration program, which will not use radioactive waste, will serve the purpose of providing data and operational experience to advance the company’s commercialization strategy for its disposal technology, Deep Isolation said in its Monday press release.
A Deep Isolation spokesperson told Exchange Monitor Thursday that the company will use an “inert, nonradioactive material to simulate the weight of a fully loaded canister.” More information on what the material will be determined as the program progresses forward, the spokesperson said.
The Berkeley, Calif.-based nuclear waste technology developer will work in collaboration on the demonstration program with the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center, Haliburton, Amentum, NAC International and Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, according to the company’s release.
The company will use its Universal Canister System for the demonstration program. The Universal Canister System is a triple-purpose canister designed to ensure the safe storage, transport and permanent disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, Deep Isolation said.
Deep Isolation said its nuclear waste disposal technology is being designed to leverage directional drilling to isolate spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in boreholes placed deep underground in rock formations.
“Deep Isolation believes that directional borehole disposal could provide robust and deep isolation for many types of radioactive waste, provide flexibility in repository siting, as well as allow for modular implementation adaptable to specific waste management programs and inventories,” the company said in the release.
“We are thrilled to have brought together this extensive collaboration of leading organizations in nuclear technology, drilling services, and waste management to address one of the nuclear industry’s most pressing challenges: developing a safe and permanent solution for nuclear waste disposal,” Deep Isolation President and CEO Rod Baltzer said.
The company has recently completed a handful of demonstration projects for its Universal Canister System through DOE funding. In a project Deep Isolation completed in January, Project Sequential Advancement of Technology for Deep Borehole Disposal (Project SAVANT), found that its deep borehole technology can properly resist corrosion to store spent nuclear fuel.