Design, Build, Test, Repeat


Published: December 15, 2022

The Kairos Power team has made significant progress since you last heard from us over the summer. We heated up the Engineering Test Unit, passed another licensing milestone for Hermes, and made new investments in infrastructure to support our vertical integration strategy. Read on for the latest.

Rapid Iterations in Action at KP Southwest

With many hours of testing completed during hot commissioning, the Engineering Test Unit (ETU) has already brought value, yielding substantial data to inform Kairos Power’s iterative development approach. Engineers have begun integrating lessons learned from ETU 1.0 into plans for future non-nuclear iterations – ETU 2.0, which will have increasing physical similarity to the Hermes demonstration reactor, and ETU 3.0, which will approach design parity with Hermes – to accelerate innovation and optimization at every step as we progress toward our first nuclear unit.

Forthcoming iterations in the ETU program will demonstrate additional features and processes, including modular construction, chemistry control, remote maintenance ability, dismantling, and decommissioning. These rapid prototyping cycles will enable Kairos Power to reduce technology, construction, manufacturing, and supply chain risk while accumulating experience that will be invaluable for future nuclear operations.

Watch our latest video to see ETU 1.0 come to life and learn more about its role in Kairos Power’s strategy to achieve cost certainty for KP-FHR technology.

What’s next? ETU 1.0 will soon be ready to commence Flibe operations. Stay tuned for more updates as we bring on the salt. 🧂

But first… The Hermes Construction Permit Application review is progressing on schedule, closing out a significant milestone this month.

Hermes Draft Environmental Impact Statement Finalized

This fall, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Hermes demonstration reactor, holding a hybrid meeting in Oak Ridge for the public to weigh in and comment. The Kairos Power team was pleased to be there in person and hear from so many engaged community members who came out to participate.

Kairos Power team members at the NRC's public meeting for the Hermes Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Peter Hastings speaks at the NRC's public meeting in Oak Ridge

Overall, the reception to Hermes has been positive. Many commenters at the meeting urged the project to move forward quickly to enable the deployment of clean energy technology that will bring new development to the region, fight climate change and help protect the environment.

With the DEIS now published and the bulk of the technical review complete, we are well past the halfway mark in the NRC’s 21-month review schedule and on track to wrap up by fall 2023. Receipt of the construction permit will conclude the first of two steps in the part 50 licensing process, with the operating license application to follow.

In a recent article for Nuclear News, CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer elaborated on licensing as part of Kairos Power’s strategy to deliver on cost and how a two-phase application aligns with our rapid iterative approach.

What’s next? Before we can build a first-of-a-kind reactor, we need a reliable supply chain for key components. Kairos Power has been investing in new capabilities to deliver KP-FHR parts and materials that will be integral to Hermes.

Making Salt, Fuel, and the Vessels to Hold Them

This summer, Kairos Power commissioned the Molten Salt Purification Plant in partnership with Materion Corporation to produce Flibe in sufficient quantities to supply the ETU program and future hardware demonstrations.

And to cap off a productive year, Kairos Power has announced a collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory to produce TRISO fuel pebbles for Hermes in the lab’s Low Enriched Fuel Fabrication Facility. This synergistic public-private partnership is facilitated by the Laboratory’s proximity to KP Southwest and will be the catalyst for Kairos Power to build a credible path to manufacture fuel for KP-FHR at an industrial scale.

So, we’ve got a path to salt ✅ and fuel ✅. What about the hardware?

Kairos Power’s manufacturing infrastructure is quickly maturing at our KP Southwest facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we are manufacturing vessels with exceptionally tight tolerances for our non-nuclear testing program. The team recently earned ASME certification to produce U-stamped pressure vessels, marking a major step on our iterative path to becoming certified to manufacture nuclear-grade components.

What’s next? The KP Southwest campus is expanding! New facilities are in the works to support iterative testing and manufacturing operations that will be key to delivering Hermes.

But first… It takes a lot of talent to deliver milestones this quickly with a lean team of just over 300 people. Kairos Power continues to hire the best and brightest in a wide range of fields to grow our cross-functional team.

Learning by Building

Ever wonder what it’s like to work at an advanced nuclear startup? In a new video, Kairos Power employees explore our “learning by building” philosophy and what it means to them.

We are hiring for positions in many disciplines at multiple locations around the country. Visit our Careers page to find out how you can join our award-winning team and advance our mission to enable the world’s transition to clean energy.

Until next time … Happy holidays from the Kairos Power team. We appreciate your interest and support and are grateful for the opportunity to bring you along on our journey.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more updates as we take on the new year.

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  1. June 09, 2022

    Building Hardware & Forging Partnerships

    It’s been a busy first half of the year at Kairos Power, but the big story is just starting to heat up! Here’s a look at what you may have missed: Engineering Test Unit Comes to Life The Kairos Power team has been hard at work building the Engineering Test Unit (ETU), which represents a major milestone on our iterative path to commercial deployment of the fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR). The non-nuclear system demonstrates the design and integration of principal KP-FHR tec…

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