The one-mile underground Kansas reactor didn’t meet a July 4 goal, but is still on track

The one-mile underground Kansas reactor didn’t meet a July 4 goal, but is still on track

The company building a one-mile underground nuclear reactor in Parsons, Kansas, did not meet a previous July 4 deadline for criticality — or a fully functioning reactor — but the company now says it’s focused on testing and commercialization.

A nuclear reactor buried one mile below ground moves from concept to a Kansas test site

Deep Fission wants to place small nuclear reactors about a mile underground, where rock and water pressure could replace some costly safety structures. The company has started testing in Kansas with deep drilling and a non-nuclear prototype, but it has not yet operated a working underground reactor. The project has raised significant funding and gained federal support, though it still faces regulatory reviews, technical challenges and concerns f…