Kairos Power – Weekly Recap

Kairos Power featured prominently this week as it advanced multiple pillars of its advanced reactor program, underscoring progress in technology, fuel supply, and modular construction. The company is developing a fluoride salt‑cooled high‑temperature reactor that uses TRISO particle fuel embedded in graphite pebbles circulating in molten salt.

The TRISO and molten salt combination is designed to enable low‑pressure, high‑temperature operation, with ceramic‑coated fuel particles intended to limit fission product release. Kairos Power frames this configuration as enhancing safety, performance, and cost competitiveness, positioning its reactors for regulators and utilities focused on next‑generation baseload power.

On the fuel supply side, Kairos Power highlighted collaboration with BWX Technologies at the Wyoming Energy Authority Summit on commercial TRISO fuel production. The partners are working on process optimization, automation, and a potential dedicated fuel fabrication facility aimed at lowering fuel costs and securing scalable supply.

The company also reported continued progress with its Engineering Test Unit 2, a non‑nuclear hardware demonstration for modular reactor construction. More than 30 modular equipment skids are being built in a factory environment at its Manufacturing Development Facility in Albuquerque and assembled like building blocks to validate standardized plant designs.

Lessons from ETU 2 are expected to inform future reactor modules, which would be fabricated in New Mexico and shipped to Oak Ridge, Tenn., with operations for the test unit targeted to begin later this year. Kairos Power presents this modular, transportable approach as a pathway to shorter construction timelines and improved cost control versus traditional nuclear projects.

Meanwhile, the company advanced its Hermes 2 project in East Tennessee, its first planned power‑producing unit and initial deployment under an agreement to supply clean electricity to Google data centers. Hermes 2 is expected to deliver up to 50 megawatts to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid, serving as a commercial proving ground and template for a replicable fleet.

Kairos Power also detailed progress qualifying ET‑10 graphite from Ibiden, machining nearly 3,000 specimens for destructive testing to validate core materials for its Hermes design. In parallel, the company received the 28th National Award for Nuclear Science and History, highlighting collaborations with U.S. national labs and universities that support its multi‑state manufacturing and deployment strategy.

Taken together, the week’s developments reflect steady de‑risking across fuel technology, supply chain, modular construction, and project execution. These steps may strengthen Kairos Power’s competitive position in advanced nuclear and data‑center energy markets as it moves from demonstration toward commercial power production.