Kairos Power and BWXT team up on TRISO
Kairos Power and BWX Technologies announced today that they will work together to “collaboratively explore” optimizing commercial production of TRISO fuel for Kairos’s planned advanced reactor fleet—beginning with the 50-MWe Hermes 2, slated for operation in 2030—and other potential customers. Their collaboration could include jointly developing a TRISO fuel fabrication facility.
Here’s what Nuclear News knows about Kairos Power’s plans for fuel and the “reenvisioned” Hermes 2, which accelerates the company’s iterative approach to getting a grid-scale molten salt–cooled reactor into commercial operation.
Fuel sources and plans: Kairos Power has been building its own capabilities to manufacture annular graphite TRISO pebbles at its TRISO Development Lab in Albuquerque, N.M., and BWXT has more than 20 years of experience in TRISO fuel manufacturing at its Lynchburg, Va., facility. The companies aim to use that combined experience to manufacture “efficient and cost-effective mass-produced TRISO coated particle fuel.”
Kairos Power has a source of HALEU—it was one of five companies that received a conditional commitment from the DOE to receive HALEU in April.
Asked if it will seek Department of Energy authorization under the Fuel Line Pilot Program to fast-track fuel fabrication to support Hermes 2, Kairos Power spokesperson Christopher Ortiz told Nuclear News, “We are not currently preparing an application for the Fuel Line Pilot Program, but we haven’t ruled out the possibility.”
Accelerating to Hermes 2: On August 18, Kairos Power announced plans, together with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Google, to build and operate a 50-MWe fluoride salt–cooled reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on the TVA grid. The reactor that would provide the power is Kairos’s Hermes 2.
Despite its grid-worthy size and function, Kairos Power considers the “reenvisioned” Hermes 2 to be a demonstration reactor and not a commercial reactor.
“This pivot effectively converts Hermes 2 into the 50-MWe demonstration plant previously known as ‘KP-X’ in Kairos Power’s iterative development pathway,” Ortiz told NN. “By pulling that iteration forward in our timeline, the enlarged Hermes 2 demonstration plant now becomes the immediate predecessor to Kairos Power’s full-scale commercial plants.”
Licensing Hermes 2: Kairos Power received a test reactor construction permit for Hermes 2 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2024. As envisioned at the time, Hermes 2 would have been a low-power test facility with two 35-MWt reactors, twins of Hermes, the single-reactor test facility that Kairos Power is now building in Oak Ridge. Hermes 2 was expected to provide operational data to support future commercial deployments.
While the reenvisioned Hermes 2 would be a 50-MWe power-producing reactor, Kairos Power expects to proceed with the existing Hermes 2 test reactor construction permit.
“Kairos Power has carefully reviewed the planned changes for Hermes 2 and concluded that the conditions of the construction permit are not substantively affected; therefore, a new application or amendment is not required,” Ortiz told NN. “Kairos has made NRC staff aware of the changes and conclusions and will include the design details within the future operating license application [OLA]. Kairos will also discuss planned changes with NRC staff as part of the preapplication engagement for the OLA.”
Quotables: “Commercial TRISO fuel production is the next step in the development of Kairos Power’s fuel supply chain,” said Ed Blandford, Kairos’s chief technology officer and cofounder. “With BWXT as a trusted strategic partner, we have a clear path to produce the high-quality fuel products that will unlock advanced nuclear energy’s potential.”
“Kairos Power sees an opportunity with BWXT to accelerate innovation in TRISO fuel manufacturing processes and more quickly realize gains in production, automation, and process efficiency that will reduce future commercial fuel costs,” said Micah Hackett, Kairos’s vice president of Fuels & Materials.
“This collaboration between BWXT and Kairos creates an industry-leading TRISO development and manufacturing team,” said Josh Parker, senior director of BWXT Advanced Fuels. “Together, we believe we have the opportunity and skills to speed up the development process and provide more economical TRISO fuel that ensures supply for Kairos, BWXT, and the wider advanced reactor community.”
