Kairos Power has selected Samsung C&T to help build its 50-megawatt Hermes 2 demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the nuclear startup works toward supplying its first power under a long-term agreement with Google. Samsung C&T will provide an equity investment and engineering services worth up to $100 million combined, with $70 million coming through the investment.
Samsung C&T brings experience from the construction of about a dozen nuclear reactors globally. Its involvement could also help Kairos move from its first demonstration plants toward the larger fleet required under its agreement with Google.
Hermes 2 Is Targeting Operation in 2030
Kairos is currently developing two reactors at its Oak Ridge site. Hermes 1 is a low-power reactor intended to test the company’s technology and provide experience that can inform later plants, while Hermes 2 will be its first commercial-scale reactor capable of supplying electricity to the grid.
Hermes 2 will produce up to 50 MW and is scheduled to begin operating in 2030. Under Kairos’ agreement with Google, the startup plans to deploy reactors providing as much as 500 MW of electricity by 2035, with Hermes 2 representing the first 50 MW.
The electricity will enter the Tennessee Valley Authority grid, with Google receiving the clean-energy benefits to support its data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. Kairos broke ground on Hermes 2 in April after receiving a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samsung C&T’s agreement includes engineering work on the demonstration project as well as an investment in Kairos. In its announcement, the engineering company said the partnership could also give it opportunities to participate in future commercial Kairos projects.
Kairos Uses a Different Reactor Design
Hermes 2 will use Kairos’ fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor technology rather than the water cooling used in conventional nuclear plants. The molten fluoride salt operates at high temperatures while remaining at relatively low pressure, reducing some of the risks associated with high-pressure coolant systems.
Kairos also uses TRISO fuel, which encases small uranium fuel particles in multiple layers of ceramic and carbon before placing them inside larger fuel pebbles. The design is intended to keep radioactive material contained at temperatures beyond normal operating conditions.
Kairos now has roughly five years to bring Hermes 2 online. Meeting the larger 500 MW commitment to Google by 2035 will require the company to deploy subsequent reactors considerably faster, making construction and engineering partners such as Samsung C&T increasingly important to its scale-up plans.
Featured image credits: American Nuclear Society
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