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Advanced nuclear company Kairos Power broke ground Friday in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on its first commercial demo reactor, backed by Google. 

Why it matters: Hyperscalers are pushing the next-generation of nuclear reactors to power AI data centers. 

What they're saying: Execution on the commercial demo reactor, called Hermes 2, is "essential to prove we can deliver what we say we can," Kairos Power CEO Mike Laufer tells Axios Pro.

Catch up quick: The Hermes 2 plant, at 50 MW, is Kairos Power's first commercial demonstration facility. 

It will produce electrons that will go out on the grid for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and provide clean electricity for Google's data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.

The DOE is committing $303 million to Kairos Power for its Hermes 1 demo reactor under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Hermes 1, which won't produce electricity, is under construction next to Hermes 2.

Between the lines: Kairos has been quiet about its investors and declined to discuss private financing beyond its commercial customers. 

How it works: Kairos is developing fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors that it says are safer and lower-cost compared to other small modular reactors. 

Zoom in: Kairos Power's DOE award will be delivered as the company achieves milestones, and Laufner calls the model "among the best return on the federal dollars spent in the advanced nuclear space."

"I would like to see that model to continue to be available for Kairos and other developers. I think it's the right balance of incentivizing performance and delivery and accountability, but also giving flexibility," says Laufner.

Laufner sees the Energy Dominance Financing Program (formerly called the DOE Loan Programs Office), "as a really important vehicle," for larger projects beyond Hermes 2. 

"The DOE is in a position to be a unique kind of strategic investor. And I use that language very deliberately," says Laufner. 

What's next: Kairos Power plans to get Hermes 2 online by 2030. 

Kairos Power breaks ground on Google-backed nuclear reactor

The company hopes to get Hermes 2 online by 2030.

Aerial view of a construction site beside a gray warehouse and white hangars; a crane and equipment dot the dirt lots, with green fields and distant hills under a cloudy sky.

Construction on Hermes 1 and Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Photo: Courtesy of Kairos Power

Advanced nuclear company Kairos Power broke ground Friday in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on its first commercial demo reactor, backed by Google. Why it matters: Hyperscalers are pushing the next-generation of nuclear reactors to power AI data centers.

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Kairos Power breaks ground on Google-backed nuclear reactor

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