Deep Fission has received approval from the US Department of Energy for its Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for the Gravity™ Nuclear Reactor. The approval marks a significant regulatory milestone, confirming the reactor design can advance under the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program. The company is developing small modular pressurised water reactors installed one mile underground. Deep Fission is advancing a commercial pilot project at the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, Kansas, where it has drilled its first data acquisition well to 6,000 feet since breaking ground in December 2025. The demonstration reactor is intended to become a fully Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed, commercially operating unit delivering power after initial testing. Deep Fission aims to provide low-carbon baseload power to utilities, industrial customers, and data centres.

Deep Fission's quiet period following its initial public offering is set to end on 28 July. The company issued 2.5 million shares on 18 June at $16.00 per share, raising $40 million. Following the quiet period's end, underwriters will likely begin issuing research coverage. Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to "sell" on Monday, whilst Benchmark and Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage with "buy" ratings. UBS Group set a price objective of $18.00. The consensus analyst rating is "buy" with an average price target of $18.67. Shares opened at $10.31 on Tuesday, down 3.2%, with a 52-week range of $7.66 to $19.00.

Holtec is the real deal. This pure-play nuclear company is about to go public. It's making money, has a promising SMR design, and is close to restarting Palisades. Here's what you need to know. Jul 19, 2026 Holtec Nuclear Corporation is the antithesis of Hadron Energy. As I reported here last month, Hadron Energy, a startup that aims to build a 10-megawatt light-water reactor, went public on May 26 via a SPAC merger. The IPO quickly made the company's founder, Sam Gibson, a 25-year-old who graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in mechanical engineering in May of 2023, a centimillionaire, or at least it did on paper. The company's website includes photos of Gibson on the university campus and informs us that he "brings midwestern values of putting others before himself." Gibson's selfless attitude may be admirable, but Hadron isn't a business; it's little more than a business plan. Hadron hasn't begun serious regulatory engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it hasn't begun fabricating a prototype reactor, and it's approximately 2,432 miles behind the 41 other US companies that are trying to develop, license, and deploy small modular reactors. (The US now has eight publicly traded pure-play SMR companies that have a combined market capitalization of about $21 billion.) But Hadron's IPO - and Deep Fission's on June 18 - provides yet another example of the froth and hype that are hallmarks of today's SMR sector. Like many of their SMR competitors, Hadron and Deep Fission are riding the wave of AI-related excitement. On its website, Hadron says it aims to provide juice to "defense installations, AI and hyperscale data-center campuses" and "remote industrial sites and communities." Now compare Hadron to Holtec, which filed its S-1 with the SEC on July 10. If Hadron represents the hype, froth, and foam of the current moment, Holtec is the beer - a stout beer. While Hadron is a rank SMR startup that will soon be running out of cash and prospects, Holtec is a 40-year veteran of the nuclear sector that is generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and boatloads of cash. I've been digging into Holtec's 400-page S-1. What I found was a successful company that is generating lots of cash - and, due to its strong balance sheet, huge backlog, and long-standing position in the nuclear sector - it could generate even more cash in the years ahead. Let's take a look. Support independent journalism by becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers can post comments, participate in the chat, and access the archive.