Deep Isolation Nuclear Appoints Drilling Veteran Jon Tedrick to Lead World's First Full-scale Deep Borehole Disposal Demonstration
BERKELEY, Calif., June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Deep Isolation Nuclear, Inc. ("Deep Isolation" or the "Company"), a leading innovator in nuclear waste disposal technology, today announced that Technology Demonstration Lead Jon Tedrick has relocated to Texas to support execution of the Company's demonstration program at the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center (DBDC) near Cameron, Texas. The relocation reflects Deep Isolation's commitment to establishing a strong field presence as the project progresses toward active operations.
The demonstration program is designed to validate key components of the Company's deep borehole disposal solution under representative field conditions. Earlier this year, Deep Isolation and its collaborators marked the launch of the project with a groundbreaking ceremony at the DBDC. Through the project, Deep Isolation plans to demonstrate the construction of a deep borehole repository using standard oil and gas drilling practices, full-scale canister emplacement and retrieval operations using its Universal Canister System (UCS), and simulated surface handling operations.
Tedrick's relocation coincides with Deep Isolation's recent selection for the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E SCALEUP Ready program, which is designed to accelerate promising energy technologies toward commercial deployment. The program provides up to $20 million to the Company to support testing and demonstration activities. The Deep Isolation project brings together a world-class team, including Westinghouse, NAC International (TYO:7004), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Occlusion Nuclear Solutions, Amentum (NYSE:AMTM) and the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center, to demonstrate an integrated solution for the storage, transportation and permanent disposal of advanced reactor and nuclear recycling waste.
As Technology Demonstration Lead, Tedrick is responsible for coordinating field execution activities, supporting engagement with project collaborators and contractors, and helping oversee preparations for upcoming demonstration activities at the Cameron site. Tedrick brings more than 28 years of drilling and project management experience spanning mining, geothermal, environmental and energy applications, including leadership of major drilling programs for the U.S. Department of Energy.
"The Cameron demonstration program is an important milestone in our path to commercialization and a critical opportunity to validate our technology at full scale," said Rod Baltzer, CEO of Deep Isolation. "As we move closer to field execution, having Jon on the ground strengthens on-site coordination and helps ensure we are prepared to successfully deliver this first-of-its-kind demonstration. His extensive drilling and project leadership experience will be invaluable as we advance toward active operations."
"Throughout my career, I have worked on complex drilling projects across the energy, mining and environmental sectors, but few have combined this level of technical innovation with such an important mission," said Tedrick. "Relocating to Texas allows me to work closely with our field team as we prepare for the next phase of execution. I am excited to help demonstrate how proven drilling technologies can be applied to address one of the nuclear industry's most significant challenges."
As interest in advanced nuclear energy continues to grow, the need for practical, scalable solutions for the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste has become increasingly important. Supported by ARPA-E's SCALEUP Ready program and a consortium of leading industry collaborators, the Cameron project is designed to advance the technical, operational and regulatory foundations needed for future deployment of an integrated solution for the storage, transportation and permanent disposal of advanced reactor and nuclear recycling waste.
About Deep Isolation
Deep Isolation 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
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Forward-Looking Statements
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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 on March 30, 2026, 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 upon written request to Deep Isolation at InvestorRelations@deepisolation.com or CorpSec@deepisolation.com.
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