A former munitions depot in Kansas is set to host an unusual nuclear energy project. Energy startup Deep Fission has signed a major supply deal with the Great Plains Development Authority. The firm plans to provide up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity to the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons.

The project eliminates traditional above-ground reactor domes. Instead, engineers plan to install reactors in boreholes about one mile beneath the surface.

The agreement turns an earlier letter of intent into a binding commercial contract. Local officials hope guaranteed, low-carbon power will attract heavy industry to the 14,000-acre site.

“Dependable, affordable power is what draws employers to Southeast Kansas, and it’s what the companies we’re talking to are asking for,” said Brad Reams, director of the park. “Deep Fission’s Gravity reactor is designed to provide firm, carbon-free electricity right here at the park, and this agreement gives us a long-term energy plan to offer.”

The project uses Deep Fission’s proprietary design, named the Gravity reactor. In basic terms, it is a pressurized water reactor. It runs on standard low-enriched uranium fuel, just like commercial plants operating worldwide.

The critical difference is its working environment. Traditional reactors use massive concrete containment domes and pressurizer vessels that keep the cooling water under intense pressure.

Deep Fission replaces those mechanical systems with natural geology. The reactor sits inside a narrow, water-filled shaft deep underground. At a depth of one mile, the weight of the water column creates intense pressure. This natural hydrostatic pressure keeps the coolant water liquid at high temperatures.

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