Kairos Power Secures Up to $100M from Samsung C&T to Build

Kairos Power has selected engineering firm Samsung C&T to assist in constructing its 50-megawatt demonstration reactor for Google, with the nuclear startup aiming for completion by 2030. Under the agreement, Samsung C&T will make an equity investment in Kairos and provide in-kind engineering services, together valued at up to $100 million, Kairos Power announced Monday. The equity investment accounts for $70 million of the total, a Kairos spokesperson told TechCrunch. Samsung C&T has built or contributed to approximately a dozen nuclear reactors worldwide. This partnership underscores the growing role of established engineering firms in supporting a new wave of nuclear startups, particularly as power demand from AI data centers surges. Kairos Power is among several nuclear startups benefiting from this increased demand. Google first signed a deal with the company in fall 2024, commissioning Kairos to build nuclear reactors capable of generating about half a gigawatt of electricity by 2035. Currently, Kairos is constructing two reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The first, Hermes 1, is a low-power demonstrator intended to help refine the company's commercial design. The second, Hermes 2, is Kairos's first commercial-scale reactor. Output from Hermes will count as the first 50 megawatts of its commitment to Google. In November 2024, the startup received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the reactors. It expects Hermes 2 to begin operating in 2030, in line with its original agreement with Google. As of 2026, construction is progressing, with the company focused on meeting this timeline. Hermes 2 will be a fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor, a design that has been proposed for years but never built at commercial scale. Fluoride salts have high boiling points, which help maintain low pressure levels. This, in turn, limits the risk of high-pressure blowouts in case of part failures. Kairos is also using a relatively new form of nuclear fuel known as TRISO, which encapsulates tiny seeds of uranium fuel in layers of ceramic and carbon, then loads them into billiard ball-sized spheres. This arrangement is designed to prevent meltdowns. The startup has about five years to get its first power plant up and running, an accelerated but manageable timeline in the nuclear industry. To fulfill the terms of its deal with Google, Kairos will need to move even faster on subsequent reactors, something Samsung C&T might be able to help with. As the demand for clean, reliable power from AI data centers continues to rise, partnerships like this one between Kairos Power and Samsung C&T could play a pivotal role in shaping the future of nuclear energy.

via TechCrunch