The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a construction permit for a test reactor at Heritage Center industrial park in west Oak Ridge. The NRC decision was announced Tuesday, and construction could start next year.
The 35-megawatt thermal Hermes demonstration reactor would be built by Kairos Power, which has headquarters in Alameda, California, and a Tennessee operation in Oak Ridge.
Hermes would use molten salt to cool its reactor core. It would not generate electricity. Instead, it would provide operational data to support the development of a larger version for commercial power, the NRC said.
“A critical step on Kairos Power’s iterative pathway to commercializing its advanced reactor technology, the Hermes reactor will demonstrate the company’s ability to deliver clean, safe, and affordable nuclear heat,” the company said in a press release.
The NRC authorized the agency’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to issue the construction permit, having found the staff’s review of the Kairos application adequate to make the necessary regulatory safety and environmental findings. There was a mandatory hearing on October 19. The NRC staff expects to issue the construction permit by the end of this month.
Kairos would have to submit a separate application for an operating license before it could operate the Hermes reactor.
Kairos submitted its application to build the Hermes reactor in 2021 but has been communicating with the NRC since 2018. The NRC issued the final safety evaluation for the Hermes construction permit in June 2023 and the final environmental impact statement for the site in August 2023.
“Kairos Power is thrilled to have achieved this major regulatory milestone as we make final preparations to start construction at the Hermes site next year,” said Mike Laufer, Kairos Power co-founder and chief executive officer. “We are excited for this next phase in the deployment of the Hermes reactor, and we remain committed to being a good community partner to our neighbors in Oak Ridge as we bring value to the region and build on its nuclear legacy. With the Hermes construction permit now approved, Kairos Power is demonstrating our leadership in developing advanced nuclear reactors and we have made a big step forward on our path to deploying clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy in East Tennessee and beyond.”
It’s the first non-water-cooled reactor to be approved for construction in the U.S. in more than 50 years, according to Peter Hastings, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs and quality.
Meanwhile, the NRC is reviewing Kairos Power’s construction permit application for Hermes 2, a proposed two-unit demonstration plant that would build on the learnings from Hermes, demonstrating the complete architecture of Kairos Power’s future commercial plants at a reduced scale and supplying electricity to the grid, the press release said.
“The Hermes series will help mitigate technology, licensing, supply chain, and construction risk to achieve cost certainty for Kairos Power’s fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology,” the release said. “Lessons learned will be integrated into the company’s future commercial deployments targeted in the early 2030s.”
Kairos Power has received a U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program award for risk reduction funding to support the development, construction, and commissioning of Hermes in collaboration with its partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Materion Corporation, and the Electric Power Research Institute.
Kairos Power said it has also established a cooperative development agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide defined engineering, operations, and licensing services for Hermes.
“Kairos Power is pleased to have the support and collaboration of industry leaders as it builds on a long history of nuclear innovation in Oak Ridge,” the press release said.
Kairos Power was founded in 2016. The company is focused on developing a commercial source of carbon-free energy that is safe and affordable.
For more information about Hermes, visit Kairos Power’s virtual open house at kairospower.consultation.ai.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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