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Countries worldwide are reconsidering nuclear energy to achieve energy security, meet increasing electricity demands and fight climate change.

As the International Energy Agency says, reaching net zero will require nuclear capacity to double by 2050. At least 30 countries are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programs, according to the World Nuclear Association, and advanced nuclear developers are attracting significant investment dollars.

But without a permanent waste solution, can nuclear truly be considered clean? The world has not yet disposed of a quarter million metric tonnes of spent fuel over the last 70 years, and building deep geologic mined repositories is not affordable or scalable for many countries.

This presents a significant barrier to nuclear energy. A poll by Reuters/Ipsos found that of those opposed to nuclear energy in America, 64% of them are concerned about the waste.

The European Union’s recently approved taxonomy amendment says nuclear power plants will not qualify as green investments unless developers have a spent fuel disposal plan in place by 2050, so it is imperative that countries be given new waste solutions.

The co-founders of Deep Isolation, the first company to commercialise deep borehole disposal of nuclear waste, will discuss their technology and business model at a panel on Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Wastes at this week’s 13th Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul.

“Nuclear waste threatens the success of nuclear energy, but there are solutions,” said Liz Muller, Co-Founder of and CEO at Deep Isolation. She will be presenting on Wednesday, the 20th of July with Richard Muller, Co-Founder of and Chief Science Officer at Deep Isolation. “Deep borehole repositories can be located at a power plant site, eliminating the need to transport waste to a large centralised mined repository, which unfairly burdens that one community. Boreholes are more cost-effective in many cases and can be built in a matter of years, not decades.”

This scalable, modular, and economical disposal solution is appealing to countries with smaller waste inventories or waste products unsuitable for a mined facility.

The company’s business model offers commercial and government partners a range of flexible IP licensing options, including training and support and supply chain services for its planning and operational processes and solution technology.

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