OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Advanced nuclear developer Kairos Power has locked in a $643 million financing package that company executives say will underwrite construction of a demonstration reactor in Tennessee and related manufacturing work.
The stack mixes $368 million from private investors with $275 million in Energy Department backing, according to reporting that cites CEO Mike Laufer. Most of the capital targets Hermes 2, a 50-megawatt fluoride salt-cooled plant planned for Oak Ridge with a startup goal around 2030.
Unlike conventional light-water reactors, the Hermes 2 design cools the core with molten salt rather than water. Private participants named in coverage include Google Ventures and DCVC, and Samsung C&T Corp. is contributing $70 million of the private share under a partnership disclosed this fall.
The project carries statewide economic weight because the Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to take power for Alphabet Google data centers, tying a federal lab community build to the region’s growing electricity demand. A portion of the package also funds expansion of Kairos manufacturing capacity in New Mexico.
Kairos says Samsung C&T will work inside its project delivery group for Hermes 2, taking on generation-side systems and plant balance work while Kairos keeps lead on reactor technology for the nuclear island.
The financing news landed Oct. 14 as U.S. electricity demand climbs and investors chase fission designs for data centers. Regulators still watch an NRC completion clock tied to Kairos Hermes 1 work that runs through 2029.
