Regulatory Update

NRC Issues Construction Permit for the Kairos Power Hermes 2 Project

November 21, 2024

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued construction permits for the Hermes 2 test reactor facility to Kairos Power LLC on November 21, 2024, sixteen months after receiving the construction permit application from Kairos (July 2023). The Hermes 2 test reactor facility, which is to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will support development of the Kairos fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology. The facility will contain two 35-megawatt thermal reactors using tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles.  Kairos Power LLC, is a U.S. based company developing a fluoride salt cooled high temperature reactor (KP-FHR) using TRISO fuel in pebble form.

The construction permit for each of the two test reactors can be found here:

The NRC’s associated final safety evaluation and final environmental assessment for the facility can be found here: