Kairos Power’s application for Hermes 2 advanced test facility moves forward
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has completed its final safety evaluation and found no safety concerns.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has completed its final safety evaluation for Kairos Power’s application to build the Hermes 2 advanced test facility at a site in Oak Ridge, and the evaluation concluded there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the construction permit for the facility.
The news comes as the more than sold-out “Nuclear Opportunities Workshop” is set to start its two-day run on Tuesday at the Hilton Knoxville Airport. The event, which has been growing dramatically in recent years, had a total of 640 individuals registered on Friday.
“We finished our review of Hermes 2 design nearly four months ahead of schedule, and using about 60 percent fewer resources than expected, using insights from our previous Kairos review,” said Andrea Veil, Director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. “We remain committed to applying these sorts of lessons learned to maintain safety while promptly and efficiently processing applications.”
The staff will provide the safety evaluation and the final environmental assessment, which is on track to be completed later this summer, to the Commission for the final phase of the licensing process later this year. The Commission will determine whether the staff’s review supports the findings necessary to issue the permit. Following its deliberations, the Commission will vote on whether to authorize the staff to issue the permit.
The Kairos application requests permission to build a facility with two 35-megawatt thermal test reactors, similar in design to the test reactor the NRC issued a construction permit for in 2023. The fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactors would share a power generation system. The company will have to submit a separate application for operating licenses in the future.
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