Samsung C&T to provide Kairos with up to $100 million — TechCrunch
In the United States, Kairos Power has selected engineering company Samsung C&T to help build a 50-megawatt demonstration nuclear reactor for Google. The Hermes 2 reactor is being built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Kairos Power plans to begin operating it in 2030.
Samsung C&T will make an equity investment in Kairos Power and provide engineering services. The total value of the deal could reach $100 million. According to a Kairos Power representative, $70 million of that amount will be an equity investment in the startup, TechCrunch reports.
Samsung C&T has built or helped build about a dozen nuclear reactors in various countries around the world.
First capacity for Google
Google signed an agreement with Kairos Power in the autumn of 2024. It provides for the construction of reactors with a total capacity of about half a gigawatt by 2035. Hermes 2's output is expected to become the first 50 megawatts under this agreement.
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The company is also building the lower-capacity Hermes 1 reactor in Oak Ridge. It is intended to help Kairos Power refine its commercial design. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of the two reactors in November 2024.
Reactor technology
Hermes 2 will be a high-temperature reactor cooled by fluoride salts. This type of reactor has not previously been built at commercial scale. The high boiling point of these salts is intended to help maintain low pressure and limit the risk of releases caused by high pressure in the event of component failures.
Kairos Power also uses TRISO fuel: tiny uranium fuel particles coated with layers of ceramic and carbon and placed in spheres the size of a billiard ball. This design is intended to prevent a core meltdown.
