American company Deep Fission has announced the signing of a series of letters of intent with potential customers for its underground nuclear reactors. If all projects are realized, the total demand for new installations could reach 18.5 GW. Potential clients include data center operators, industrial enterprises, industrial park developers, and infrastructure companies.
For now, these are not firm contracts. The signed documents merely confirm the parties’ interest in cooperation and do not obligate customers to finance construction, purchase reactors, or enter into exclusive agreements. If needed, such arrangements can be terminated without any penalties.
Deep Fission is developing an unusual nuclear power plant called the Gravity Nuclear Reactor. Instead of traditional surface placement, the compact pressurized water reactor is designed to be lowered into a vertical shaft about 1.6 kilometers deep. According to the company, this approach could significantly reduce the plant’s footprint and simplify safety and security concerns compared to classic small modular reactors.
The first demonstration project is being implemented at the Great Plains Industrial Park in the U.S. state of Kansas as part of the Reactor Pilot Program under the U.S. Department of Energy. The company has already drilled an exploratory shaft approximately 1.8 kilometers deep. The data obtained will help prepare the next phase—drilling a full-scale shaft for installing a test reactor.
Commercial operation of the technology is still a long way off. In the first half of 2027, Deep Fission plans to submit a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The first commercial plants could only appear after successful testing, obtaining all necessary approvals, and signing full-fledged contracts with customers.
The company believes that demand for such solutions will grow due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence and cloud services, which require ever more electricity to power data centers. At the same time, Deep Fission emphasizes that the stated 18.5 GW reflects only potential market interest and does not mean that such capacity will actually be built.
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