Deep Isolation CEO Rod Baltzer Issues Letter to Shareholders

BERKELEY, Calif., July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Deep Isolation Nuclear, Inc. (OTCQB:DBHL) ("Deep Isolation" or the "Company"), a leading innovator in nuclear waste disposal technology, today issued the following letter to shareholders from its Chief Executive Officer Rod Baltzer.

Dear Shareholders,

This week marks an important milestone for Deep Isolation Nuclear Inc. ("Deep Isolation"), with our shares now quoted on the OTCQB Venture Market for the first time. On behalf of our entire team, I want to thank you for your confidence in our vision. As we enter the public markets, we are grateful to have you with us for this next chapter of growth and execution.

When we founded Deep Isolation ten years ago, we set out to help solve one of the world’s most pressing challenges: the safe, permanent disposal of nuclear waste. Our mission has never been more critical, relevant, or timely.

A Year of Remarkable Progress

We believe that the last 12 months have been transformational for Deep Isolation. We advanced from research and development toward commercial readiness, achieving milestones that we believe position us as an innovator in nuclear waste disposal technology. These included:

Technology Leadership – We advanced our Universal Canister System (UCS), which is engineered to support integrated storage, transportation, and eventual disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste from legacy and advanced reactors. Supported by over $7 million in U.S. and UK government grants funding, the UCS is designed to handle both today’s spent nuclear fuel and tomorrow’s advanced reactor waste streams, reducing the need for costly repackaging. We also crossed the 100-patent threshold, reinforcing the intellectual property foundation that protects our technology and supports our long-term competitive position.

Strategic Relationships – We strengthened our supply-chain ecosystem with relationships involving NAC International and Amentum, entered into a technology licensing agreement with Navarro Research and Engineering, and kicked off new strategic collaborations with Halliburton and Occlusion Nuclear Solutions. These relationships are intended to support potential deployment of our solution at industrial scale.

Global Recognition – We deepened engagement with governments and international institutions, including a feasibility study in Bulgaria funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. We continued providing expert services at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Capital Strength – We completed our transaction to become a publicly reporting company and completed an oversubscribed $33 million private offering, providing access to public capital markets and a balance sheet potentially capable of supporting our deployment at scale. Quotation of our shares on the OTCQB Venture Market is the culmination of that process.

Most recently, Deep Isolation was selected as the first nuclear industry company to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E SCALEUP Ready program. We are advancing through the contracting phase for funding of up to $20 million to support our Cameron, Texas demonstration project.

The Opportunity Ahead

New milestones and opportunities are continuing in 2026 and beyond. The potential market opportunity for permanent nuclear waste disposal is significant. Based on existing spent nuclear fuel alone, we estimate a total addressable market of approximately $155 billion. With new nuclear capacity expected to triple by 2050, that market grows to approximately $295 billion. These estimates are based on Deep Isolation’s analysis using data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), World Nuclear Association (WNA), Amentum, and the Deep Isolation Financial Model. Although the timing and development of that market, including the U.S., will depend on customer demand, regulatory developments, policy decisions, and other factors.

But this is not just about market size – it is about helping to address a critical problem that has constrained nuclear expansion for decades. We believe a credible, scalable disposal solutions will be important in supporting the long-term role of nuclear energy.

Our Second Half 2026 Milestones

During 2026, we have taken significant operational and commercial steps forward. In January, we launched a full-scale, at-depth, non-radioactive demonstration borehole repository in Cameron, Texas, in collaboration with the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center, Halliburton, Amentum, NAC International, and Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, with first emplacement of full-size UCS canisters at kilometer-plus depth now targeted for second quarter 2027. This demonstration is expected to serve as a tangible proof point for customers and regulators regarding the potential safety and feasibility of our approach.

In the months ahead, we:

• Look to finalize our ARPA-E SCALEUP Ready contract to support the full-scale demonstration and begin site construction activities and delivery of long-lead items for the start of operations in Cameron, TX

• Anticipate commencing formal regulatory engagement with the NRC and at least one other international regulator and pursuing a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing for our UCS via a Certificate of Compliance

• Expect to further advance our commercial deployment strategy for integrated nuclear waste management, including turnkey disposal solutions for government waste management organizations

• Will continue to build our technical, legal, and commercial capabilities to pursue significant contract opportunities

Why Deep Isolation Stands Apart

The foundation of our story is the uniqueness of what we are doing. By adapting proven directional drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we are advancing a new approach to geologic disposal that may reduce the need for massive underground mining projects and could decrease disposal costs by up to 70% compared to traditional repositories, if successfully commercialized.

We have protected this innovation with over 100 patents covering the full lifecycle of borehole disposal. We have invested a decade in the underlying science supporting the potential safety of our approach, and built partnerships across nuclear and oil and gas supply chains to support potential execution at industrial scale.

Most importantly, our technology is being designed not only for today’s light water reactor waste, but also for advanced reactor technologies and recycling processes that may help define nuclear energy’s future.

Looking Forward

As your shares begin trading on OTC Market, I want you to know that we approach this new phase with both excitement and responsibility. We believe that we have the technology, partnerships, regulatory strategy, and capital resources to continue advancing our mission, while recognizing that commercialization remains subject to customer demand, regulatory approvals, project execution, financing, and other risks. The world needs credible, scalable solutions for nuclear waste disposal, and Deep Isolation is focused on helping to provide them.

As demand for nuclear energy grows, so does the need for credible, scalable waste disposal solutions. With your continued support, Deep Isolation is focused on helping address that need and supporting the long-term growth of clean, reliable nuclear power.

Thank you for being part of this journey and we look forward to moving forward together.

Sincerely,

Rod Baltzer 

President & Chief Executive Officer 

Deep Isolation Nuclear, Inc.

About Deep Isolation

Deep Isolation (OTCQB:DBHL) is the first company to undertake development of technologies for nuclear waste disposal in deep boreholes. When commercialized, Deep Isolation’s solution will offer a unique solution to help countries identify, plan for and complete the necessary steps to dispose of their nuclear waste inventories. With over 100 patents issued to date, Deep Isolation’s technology is being designed to leverage proven drilling practices to allow safe isolation of waste deep underground in horizontal, vertical, or slanted borehole repositories. Deep Isolation’s Universal Canister System was developed through a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy and is engineered to support integrated management of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste from legacy and advanced reactors across storage, transportation, and eventual disposal. In January 2026, Deep Isolation launched a full-scale, at-depth deep borehole Commercialization Pilot for its solution at Cameron, Texas, in collaboration with the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Amentum (NYSE:AMTM), NAC International, and Occlusion Nuclear Solutions.

For more information, visit: https://www.deepisolation.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our plans, objectives and expectations for our business, the future growth of our business and the nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal industries as a whole, and future benefits expected to arise from our strategic partnerships. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of words and phrases or statements such as "may," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "will," "could," "project," "target," "potential," "continue" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s belief and assumptions, including current expectations and projections about future events and trends, and on information currently available to management.

Forward-looking statements in this or any other news release are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and assumptions are subject to a number of factors, including, among others: the failure of a market to develop for our deep borehole disposal solutions as quickly as we expect or at all; a failure of demand for our solution to develop sufficiently; regulatory and legal developments, including issues relating to obtaining regulatory approvals or permissions on the timelines we expect or at all; our lack of profitability; delays or failure in our initiative to complete a full-scale, at-depth demonstration of our Universal Canister System and our deep borehole solution; our failure to enter into contracts with customers or, once we do enter into contracts, to continue such contractual relationships or to receive new contract awards; our dependency on governmental contracts and awards and our ability to finalize negotiations on same; our failure to manage our growth effectively or to execute our business plan; our failure to sustain and expand relationships with governmental entities and strategic partners; a failure in the assumptions or analyses we have used in supporting forecasts or plans; our inability to commercialize our products at scale; the development or deployment of other technologies or solutions supplanting or competing with our technologies; challenges to our intellectual property; failures to protect, maintain, enforce, and enhance our intellectual property, and claims by others of intellectual property infringement; political and public perceptions of nuclear energy, including perceptions as to accidents or other high-profile events involving nuclear power facilities or radioactive materials; our liquidity and ability to raise capital; any inability to control operating and project costs and project delays or other project-related problems; security (including cybersecurity) breaches or disruptions; geopolitical, macroeconomic, domestic events or crises, including supply chain disruptions and other risks and uncertainties outside of our control; weather and effects of climate change; and litigation or legal proceedings that may be brought against us.

The foregoing is not an exhaustive list of all the factors that may cause any forward-looking statements to prove inaccurate or our actual results to differ materially from our expectations and forecasts. Moreover, we operate in a highly regulated environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, and we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this release or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.

Additional information concerning the factors above and other factors will be found in the Company’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the sections titled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company’s Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and the quarter ending March 31, 2026, respectively, as filed with the SEC, our Form S-1, originally filed August 18, 2025 and subsequently amended, our Proxy Statement for our 2026 Annual Meeting as filed on April 29, 2026, and in filings with the SEC that will be made in the future.

The Company’s SEC filings are available free of charge at www.sec.gov or on the Deep Isolation website: https://www.deepisolation.com/investors/financial-information/

Media Contact:

Sophie McCallum

media@deepisolation.com

Investor Contact:

Caldwell Bailey

InvestorRelations@deepisolation.com