Deep Fission’s shares rose 2.3% to $8.00 on Wednesday after the company outlined progress toward deploying an underground nuclear reactor in Parsons, Kansas, by the end of 2027.
Speaking at the EnerCom Denver Energy Investment Conference, Chief Executive Liz Muller said the firm has secured a pipeline of 18.5 gigawatts in letters of intent, including a 2-gigawatt agreement for the Parsons site. The 14,000-acre industrial park in Kansas has been leased for the first phase, with capacity to support up to 100 reactors and roughly 1.5 gigawatts of generation over the facility’s 50-year lifespan.
Deep Fission’s technology integrates pressurized water reactor components with oil and gas drilling methods, placing reactors about 1 mile underground. The water column above the reactor generates approximately 160 atmospheres of pressure, eliminating the need for a traditional pressurizer and reducing costs. Each reactor canister is estimated to cost single-digit millions to manufacture, compared with roughly $1 billion for a conventional reactor vessel or pressurizer.
The company aims to complete commercial borehole proof-of-concept testing in 2026, followed by deployment of a 5-megawatt electric unit in the first half of 2027 under the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program. Grid connection and commercial electricity generation are targeted for the end of 2027, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Part 53 pathway expected to be finalized by year-end.
Deep Fission has been accepted into the DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program and received approval for its Documented Safety Analysis agreement. The firm uses standard low-enriched uranium fuel assemblies already licensed by the NRC. Shares have declined 46% over the past six months, trading near the low end of a 52-week range between $7.64 and $19.00, with a market capitalization of $461 million. The company holds zero debt but reported negative cash flow of $52 million over the last twelve months and is rated “WEAK” by InvestingPro due to its pre-revenue status.
