More than ever, our planet needs us to move beyond dirty energy sources such as gas and oil and power our societies instead with clean, renewable sources — and nuclear power could provide that solution.
Scientists are working hard to figure out how to produce nuclear energy safely, cheaply, and efficiently.
One Berkeley-based company is trying a new strategy to achieve those aims by burying a nuclear reactor one mile below the Earth's surface, Interesting Engineering reported.
Deep Fission's concept has never been tried before. While the reactor would operate similarly to existing nuclear reactors, placing it in a borehole one mile under the ground would keep it safe from events such as tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
Extreme weather events are becoming more common due to changing weather patterns caused by the overheating of our planet, which is fueled by dirty energy pollution.
The reactor would also be able to be raised to the surface in an hour or two, meaning that technicians would not have to travel deep into the earth to work on it.
According to Interesting Engineering, the company has secured $4 million in pre-seed funding. Overall, it's expected the reactor will be more cost-efficient since it would use the natural surroundings underground to create the pressure needed for it to work, rather than a thick steel reactor pressure vessel.
"I am thrilled to introduce Deep Fission and present our groundbreaking approach to affordable nuclear power," said Elizabeth Muller, co-founder and CEO of Deep Fission. "Climate change has accelerated the need for clean energy, and nuclear must be cheaper in order to compete with coal and natural gas.
"We've innovated beyond other reactor designs and engaged early and often with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make atomic energy a viable option to power AI, industrial applications, as well as remote communities."
Although nuclear energy often gets a bad rap due to people's associations with meltdown disasters such as the ones at Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear technology has gotten safer in recent years.
Scientists worldwide are making advancements in the field, and nuclear's potential for generating virtually unlimited clean energy with zero planet-overheating pollution makes it well worth exploring further.
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