Samsung C&T Backs Kairos Power With Up to $100M for Google Nuclear Reactor
Samsung C&T commits up to $100 million to help Kairos Power deliver a 50 MW advanced nuclear reactor for Google's growing AI power needs in Tennessee by 2030.
Summary
Samsung C&T agreed on September 21, 2026, to provide Kairos Power with up to $100 million in equity and in-kind engineering for a 50 megawatt demonstration reactor serving Google. The package includes a $70 million equity investment. Samsung C&T has built or helped build about a dozen reactors worldwide. Google signed Kairos in fall 2024 to supply roughly half a gigawatt of nuclear capacity by 2035 as AI data centers drive electricity demand.
Kairos is building two reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, after Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval in late 2024. Low-power Hermes 1 will refine its commercial design, while Hermes 2, its first commercial-scale reactor, is scheduled to operate in 2030. Hermes output will count as the first 50 megawatts under the Google agreement. Hermes 2 uses fluoride salt coolant, whose high boiling point enables lower pressure and reduces blowout risk, plus relatively new TRISO fuel that encases tiny uranium seeds in ceramic and carbon layers inside billiard ball-sized spheres to prevent meltdowns. The reactor design has never been built commercially. Kairos has about five years to start its first plant and must deliver subsequent reactors faster, with Samsung C&T potentially helping accelerate construction.
Positives
- Samsung C&T is providing up to $100 million, including $70 million in equity, alongside engineering support for Kairos Power.
- Samsung C&T brings experience from building or assisting with about a dozen nuclear reactors worldwide.
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval in late 2024 cleared both Hermes projects for construction in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
- Fluoride salt coolant enables lower operating pressure, limiting the danger of high-pressure blowouts after component failures.
- TRISO fuel encases uranium in ceramic and carbon layers intended to prevent meltdowns.
Risks & concerns
- Hermes 2’s fluoride salt-cooled design has never been built at commercial scale.
- Kairos has about five years to bring its first power plant online by 2030.
- Meeting Google’s half-gigawatt target by 2035 will require subsequent reactors to be completed faster than Hermes 2.
- TRISO remains a relatively new fuel format despite its intended safety advantages.