US start-up Deep Isolation Nuclear has been selected as the sole industrial partner for three competitive federal grants under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Project GENESIS programme. Two initiatives are led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and one by the University of South Carolina (USC). The three projects aim to advance artificial intelligence-enabled repository site screening, design and performance analysis for nuclear waste disposal.
The Genesis Mission is a national initiative led by DOE and its 17 national laboratories to build an advanced scientific platform that uses artificial intelligence to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security and drive energy innovation. The initiative brings together DOE’s supercomputers, scientific data, research facilities and emerging quantum technologies with expertise from industry and academia. The projects support the Genesis Mission by advancing technologies with the potential to reduce the time, cost and uncertainty associated with siting, designing and evaluating repositories for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
The two LBNL-led initiatives will bring together Deep Isolation’s industry and engineering expertise in deep borehole disposal and innovative Universal Canister System (UCS) design with LBNL’s capabilities in geoscience, digital modelling and AI-driven analysis. Building on previous collaborations between Deep Isolation and LBNL, the two initiatives combine complementary expertise in repository engineering, geoscience and artificial intelligence to create a more integrated workflow spanning site characterization, repository design and performance evaluation.
The first initiative, Project GeoTrace, will use AI-assisted tools to transform legacy geological records into detailed digital models for site characterization and subsurface fatal flaw analysis. The second project will develop an AI-driven platform using digital twins, geographic information system data and faster computer models to support repository design and performance analysis.
The USC-led initiative, AI-STRATA3D, will pair Deep Isolation’s repository engineering, borehole data and fatal flaw screening expertise with USC’s capabilities in physics-informed artificial intelligence, uncertainty analysis and autonomous subsurface modelling to support faster, more data-driven site characterisation. The project will combine geological data, physics-based modelling and artificial intelligence to rapidly evaluate candidate sites, identify potential fatal flaws and refine predictions as new information becomes available.
Together, the projects are expected to create a more connected framework spanning initial site screening, subsurface characterisation, repository design and performance analysis. As the sole industrial partner on the three initiatives, Deep Isolation will contribute borehole data, repository engineering expertise and practical screening criteria to help ensure the resulting tools reflect the technical requirements for future borehole repository development.
“Developing AI tools that can meaningfully improve nuclear waste disposal requires close collaboration between researchers and industry,” said Professor Sourav Banerjee, Director of i-MAPS at the University of South Carolina. “Deep Isolation’s expertise in repository engineering and deep borehole disposal helps ensure our project framework is grounded in practical deployment requirements while advancing AI-enabled approaches that have the potential to make site characterisation faster, more data-driven, and more scientifically robust.”
Deep Isolation Nuclear is seeking to commercialise the disposal of nuclear waste using deep directional borehole technology by adapting existing drilling techniques from the oil and gas industries. With over 100 patents issued to date, Deep Isolation’s technology is being designed to leverage proven drilling practices for the safe isolation of waste deep underground in horizontal, vertical, or slanted borehole repositories. Its UCS is engineered to support integrated management of used fuel and high-level radioactive waste from legacy and advanced reactors across storage, transportation, and eventual disposal.
The company was founded by the daughter-father team of Elizabeth Muller (CEO) and Richard A Muller (Chief Technology Officer), both prominent energy and environmental experts. It was officially incorporated in the State of Delaware in June 2016, with its main operational headquarters based in Berkeley, California. It established Deep Isolation EMEA Limited in the UK to handle European and Pacific markets, acquired environmental firm Freestone Environmental Services, and went public following an oversubscribed funding round in July 2023.
DOE has heavily supported Deep Isolation through multi-million-dollar grants, sub-contracting research partnerships, and technology integration into federal nuclear clean-up initiatives. In December 2025, Deep Isolation successfully wrapped up a three-year project funded under DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) – Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems (ONWARDS) initiative. This project resulted in the production and physical testing of the world’s first disposal-ready UCS.
In April 2026, ARPA-E committed $40m split across two projects, positioning Deep Isolation to receive up to $20m to test deep borehole disposal using a non-radioactive Commercial Pilot in Cameron, Texas (ARPA-E SCALEUP). Deep Isolation has also finalised its engineering work on various secondary ARPA-E funded projects as a subrecipient to nuclear developer Oklo and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
For the ARPA-E SCALEUP award, Deep Isolation assembled a prominent consortium of industrial partners to validate its UCS and execute its non-radioactive Commercial Pilot in Cameron. The primary commercial, engineering, and supply chain partners involved in the project include:
- Westinghouse Electric Company: acting as the launch customer for the initiative to secure Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certification so the UCS can store and transport spent fuel from their eVinci microreactor;
- NAC International: focused on manufacturing and engineering development including taking the UCS design through the formal NRC licensing process for storage and transport;
- Halliburton: providing the physical testing footprint and industrial drilling equipment at its Drilling Technology Facility in Cameron;
- Amentum; contributing large-scale nuclear operations expertise, government contracting capabilities, and site deployment support to transition borehole disposal into a practical commercial reality;
- Occlusion Nuclear Solutions: delivering highly specialised well emplacement services to orchestrate the safe positioning and eventual retrieval workflows of the canisters underground; and
- The Deep Borehole Demonstration Center (DBDC): A non-profit organisation handling the open-source collaboration, independent testing validation, and international stakeholder engagement for the physical pilot site.
Jesse Sloane, Executive Vice President of Engineering at Deep Isolation, noted: “These DOE awards represent an important step toward modernising how the nuclear industry evaluates future disposal sites and repository designs. By combining artificial intelligence with geoscience and engineering expertise, we are helping create tools that could accelerate repository development while maintaining the scientific rigor and unwavering commitment to safety required for effective and responsible long-term nuclear waste management.”
