An Alberta-driven take on nuclear power
Calgary-based company wants to put reactors underground to help meet the growing demand for reliable low-carbon electricity.
October 7, 2026
The future of Canadian energy lies a kilometre beneath the earth’s surface.
That’s the vision of a Calgary innovator who wants to use natural geology to build underground containment structures for the new generation of nuclear reactors, which could power everything from data centres to remote communities to oil sands operations.
“We see ourselves building on Alberta and Canada’s existing strengths,” says Paul Boone, Founder and Director of NuWells Energy. “We are taking decades of expertise in geology, drilling, and the oil and gas supply chain, and blending it with Canada’s long history as a leader in nuclear power.”
Traditional nuclear reactors – such as the three currently operating in Ontario – are large and custom-built power plants that generate about 60 per cent of the province’s electricity. Built between 1971 and 1990, they are expensive to construct due to the amount of concrete required for their containment systems – a key safety component of nuclear power plants. The Ontario government recently approved construction for Ontario Power Generation to build a new plant using four SMR reactors that will cost $20.9 billion its Darlington facility. Refurbishing existing traditional facilities at Darlington and Pickering to extend their lives for 30-plus years will cost $19 billion in total.
By contrast, small modular reactors, or SMRs, produce power on a smaller scale without needing similar containment systems. Because of their size, SMRs can be shipped by truck, rail or barges to sites, making them easier to install and much less expensive. Many SMRs incorporate passive safety features that rely on natural forces—such as gravity and natural circulation—to cool the reactor and maintain stability without requiring off-site power or immediate operator action during an emergency.
Placing reactors in large-diameter wells could lower containment structure and overall construction costs, while using the surrounding geology to provide a stable, secure operating environment.
“The ideal operating environment is any region with suitable geology for large-diameter drilling down to roughly a kilometre deep. Early adopters will be customers where there’s currently a price premium for reliable and resilient power, such as heavy industry, remote communities, and the next generation of data centres,” Boone says. “We have six people on our team with experience in oil and gas geology, drilling, and facilities engineering, as well as nuclear safety.”
Looking beneath the earth is already something current nuclear power plants have started to pursue. After decades of storing spent fuel in aboveground containment facilities, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization selected a site in northern Ontario for the long-term storage of spent fuel in an underground geological formation.
NuWells recently won a technology stream award and has received support from Avatar Innovations, which helps develop and commercialize new technologies. Avatar receives funding from Oil Sands Alliance as part of its commitment to help bring breakthrough innovations to improve the energy industry.
“Avatar has been a foundational supporter of our journey. Avatar has helped us sharply refine our focus onto a single, critical problem area, enabling us to build a highly compelling pitch for our solution,” Boone says. “We are working towards reaching a pilot within the next five years.”
And Boone feels Alberta, which has seen ideas such as steam-assisted gravity drainage, go from ideas into operational realties in the past generation, is the ideal testing ground to prove his technology.
“This is an Alberta-driven take on nuclear power. By leveraging our world-class oil and gas capabilities, we can create a new industry standard—one that has the potential to become the most scalable model for global nuclear deployment.”
*To learn more about NuWells Energy, check out their LinkedIn.
