Deep Fission, the company planning a one-mile underground nuclear reactor in Parsons, Kansas, has passed a regulatory milestone, but at the same time is facing new financial questions.
A financial research organization has raised questions about the viability of the project. Then, four stockholder rights law firms throughout the U.S. launched investigations of the company after its share price dropped.
The progress and challenges could mean an unclear path forward for the project. Deep Fission’s goal as of right now is to do further testing at the site. Company officials remain optimistic and say the criticisms are prompted by financial motivations from the people making the claims.
The U.S. Department of Energy approved the nuclear safety design agreement, or NSDA, for Deep Fission’s reactor in southeast Kansas. That’s an initial step in the federal safety review process.
Additional documentations and reviews are still needed before federal authorization for operation. Deep Fission said it published the full design agreement for public transparency.
“We’re publishing our full NSDA because we think the public deserves to see the actual safety case behind this reactor,” Deep Fission CEO Liz Muller said in a statement.
Shortly after the Department of Energy’s approval, a financial research group raised questions about the project. The report from Iceberg Research, Deep Fission: A Money Pit, criticized the company’s plans, arguing that the cost of power from the reactor will not be competitive and saying the timeline for approval and construction is too ambitious.
Deep Fission has aimed its reactors at large power users, such as data centers. The report argues that’s not realistic and other options are more cost effective.
“It’s time for small modular reactor supporters to admit it: natural gas, not SMRs, is the undisputed winner of the AI data center build-out,” the Iceberg Research report said.
Deep Fission rejected the report in a news release, saying it contained “distortions, inaccuracies and mischaracterizations.”
The company also noted the report’s author was anonymous, and the report’s disclosure said the public should assume the author and related parties are shorting the stock. That would mean they make money if the stock price falls.
Deep Fission is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Its stock fell 10% following Iceberg Research’s report in late September.
A statement from the company said Deep Fission is "reviewing the report with its advisors and evaluating all available options, including potential legal remedies.”
Following the report, four stockholder rights law firms announced they were investigating Deep Fission. One firm, Johnson Fistel, said it will investigate Deep Fission “on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses following a report questioning the Company’s projected funding needs and path to commercial deployment.”
The firm’s statement said it will also investigate how Deep Fission developed the estimates for its spending projections.
Deep Fission did not respond to the Kansas News Service’s requests for comment about either issue.
The firms did not return Kansas News Services’s request for comment.
Deep Fission has worked toward more transparency since the reactor’s groundbreaking in December of last year. It has hired a company representative based in Parsons and started hosting community advisory meetings.
But the company still faces skepticism from an advocacy group in Parsons. Prairie Dog Alliance has questioned what will happen if the project is never completed or is abandoned after nuclear materials are on site. Marjorie Reynolds is the organization’s founder.
“There's no wording on that, no hinting around what will be thought of in the future,” Reynolds said in an interview. “And that leaves the local public and the surrounding landowners up in the air as far as what they can plan for in the future.”
Reynolds is also concerned with the amount of testing Deep Fission is doing for emergencies — and how the operations will be analyzed, which is guaranteed by the design agreement.
“We would like to plan for these types of emergencies in the future, a plan that's coordinated with local law enforcement and local fire departments,” Reynolds said.
Labette County Commissioner Vince Schibi confirmed the commission has discussed specific safety plans on how to respond if there were a fire at the nuclear site.
Reynolds said she and other Prairie Dog Alliance members have not been to any community advisory meetings. They said they are instead working on state outreach and contacting state legislators.
Rachel Schnelle reports on Missouri and Kansas issues for KRPS.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KRPS, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
