StoryManufacturing
Kairos begins safety-related nuclear construction on Hermes in Oak Ridge
Kairos Power began safety-related nuclear construction on Hermes on 1 May 2025, pouring its first safety-related concrete on 8 May under NRC oversight. Hermes will be the first non-water-cooled reactor approved for U.S. construction in over 50 years, using fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology with TRISO fuel and molten fluoride salt coolant.
- Safety-related construction began 1 May 2025; first safety-related concrete poured 8 May.
- Foundation: 51 drilled piers, 6 feet diameter, ~40 feet deep to bedrock.
- First non-water-cooled reactor approved for U.S. construction in over 50 years.
- Supported by DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.