Deep Isolation announced the completion of Project SAVANT, an effort aimed at advancing deep borehole disposal for nuclear waste.
Positioning deep boreholes as a viable alternative for nuclear waste disposal, Deep Isolation has become the first company to actively develop and test this approach. The company has launched a planned three-year program aimed at delivering a full-scale, at-depth demonstration of its Universal Canister System and integrated deep borehole disposal solution.
The approach relies on established drilling techniques and commercially available tools widely used in the US oil and gas industry, helping to limit both cost and technical risk. Deep Isolation’s concept involves placing nuclear waste in corrosion-resistant steel canisters measuring roughly 9 to 13 inches in diameter and about 14 feet in length, which are emplaced deep within engineered boreholes in stable rock formations. Each borehole is lined with steel casing and begins with a vertical access section before gradually curving to a near-horizontal orientation with a slight upward incline, allowing controlled placement of the waste at depth.Universal canister system supports multiple advanced reactor waste streamsDepending on local geology, the horizontal disposal section of the borehole would extend up to two miles in length and be located several thousand feet to as much as two miles below the surface. After the waste canisters are emplaced, the vertical access shaft and the entrance to the horizontal section would be sealed with layers of rock, bentonite, and other engineered barrier materials to isolate the waste.The Universal Canister System was developed with NAC International to handle multiple advanced reactor waste types. These include vitrified waste from reprocessing, TRISO-based used fuel, and halide salts from molten salt reactors. The system is designed to work with existing dry storage and transportation infrastructure, allowing integration with current nuclear waste handling practices.Results from Project SAVANT indicate that Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System and borehole casing materials can withstand corrosion levels consistent with the safe, long-term storage of nuclear waste.As part of the research, the Project SAVANT team assessed corrosion performance under realistic thermal, chemical, and mechanical conditions expected in deep borehole environments. The resulting data strengthen the scientific foundation of the Universal Canister System and support confidence in its long-term performance and intended service life.Marking progress toward permanent disposal of nuclear wasteMarking a further step in its development program, Deep Isolation said the study confirms progress toward a safe and permanent approach to nuclear waste disposal. Company President and CEO Rod Baltzer described the results as a critical milestone at a time when nuclear energy is expanding, but long-term waste solutions remain unresolved. Global nuclear power capacity is expected to grow by more than 300 gigawatts by 2050, yet no country has permanently disposed of the spent fuel produced over the past seven decades. Baltzer said the company believes deep-borehole disposal can provide a long-term solution by isolating nuclear waste safely and permanently deep underground.According to Stan Gingrich, principal engineer at Amentum and a Project SAVANT collaborator, the materials research was critical to advancing disposal readiness. He noted that the corrosion tests produced data representative of real deep borehole environments and said the collaboration, including a jointly authored paper presented at Waste Management Symposia 2025, shows how phased testing can help move new nuclear waste disposal technologies toward practical deployment.
Deep Isolation Energy &Amp Environment Nuclear Nuclear Waste Nuclear Waste Disposal
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