Kairos Power secures up to $100M from Samsung C&T for nuclear reactor project

Kairos Power just locked in a major construction partner with deep pockets. Samsung C&T’s Engineering & Construction Group has committed up to $100 million to help build the Hermes 2 nuclear demonstration plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a 50-megawatt reactor that represents the bleeding edge of advanced nuclear technology in the US.

The deal, structured as a binding term sheet, includes both direct equity investment and in-kind engineering services. Samsung C&T won’t just be writing checks. The South Korean conglomerate’s construction arm will embed directly into the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction team, initially focusing on power generation systems and balance-of-plant infrastructure.

Why Samsung is betting on American nuclear

The investment follows a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed on August 18, 2026, which also included Barnard Construction. That MOU laid the groundwork for what has now become a concrete financial commitment, pending regulatory approvals.

Kairos Power’s reactor design, called the KP-FHR (fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor), uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant, which operates at atmospheric pressure rather than the high-pressure systems used in conventional pressurized water reactors.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted construction permits for Hermes 2 in December 2024, a milestone that cleared a significant regulatory hurdle and gave investors like Samsung C&T the confidence to move forward with real capital.

Google’s nuclear appetite

Hermes 2 is the first project under a Master Plant Development Agreement that Kairos Power established with Google in 2024. That deal targets up to 500 MW of advanced reactor capacity by 2035, with the electricity flowing into the Tennessee Valley Authority grid to feed Google’s data centers in the region.

At 50 MW, Hermes 2 is relatively modest. For context, a typical US nuclear plant generates around 1,000 MW. But the project is designed as a proof of concept that, if successful, Kairos Power can replicate across multiple sites to potentially reach that 500 MW target within a decade.

The US Department of Energy has been a significant backer of this trajectory, allocating up to $303 million for earlier Hermes demonstration projects.

The competitive landscape for advanced nuclear

Kairos Power isn’t alone in chasing this market. Companies like TerraPower (backed by Bill Gates), X-energy, and NuScale Power are all developing small modular reactors or advanced designs. NuScale, which went public via a SPAC, faced a significant setback when its flagship project in Idaho was cancelled in 2023 due to rising costs.

What distinguishes Kairos Power’s approach is the combination of government backing, a committed offtake partner in Google, and now a construction partner in Samsung C&T willing to invest up to $100 million. The US Department of Energy has allocated up to $303 million for previous Hermes demonstration projects, and Google has committed to offtake of up to 500 MW by 2035.