October 05, 2021
The US company Kairos Power submitted the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) for its fluoride salt cooled high temperature reactor (KP-FHR) as part of its application for building permit for the Hermes low power demonstration reactor to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
A rendering of the Hermes demonstration facility in Oak Ridge (Image: Kairos Power)
The KP-FHR is described by Kairos, headquartered in Alameda, California, as a novel advanced reactor technology that utilizes pebble-shaped TRISO fuel combined with a low pressure fluoride salt coolant. The Hermes facility, which is rated for a thermal output of 35 MWt, will not generate electricity, but will demonstrate the technology’s ability to provide inexpensive core heat and is part of a “rapid iterative development approach” that the company says will help to reduce the technical risks, licensing, manufacturing and construction risks and at the same time create cost security on the way to the commercial use of the KP-FHR. Hermes should be ready for use in 2026.
“It is both exciting and humbling to enter this new phase of development and demonstration of the technology our company is solely focused on,” said Mike Laufer, CEO and co-founder of Kairos Power. “We look forward to working with staff from the NRC, the State of Tennessee and the City of Oak Ridge to build Hermes and demonstrate our ability to deliver safe and affordable nuclear heating.”
Kairos will receive a US Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program share award to fund risk mitigation in support of the Hermes reactor development for $ 629 million over seven years, of which the DOE will receive $ 303 million . The company works with Materion Corporation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and Electric Power Research Institute, and also has a collaborative development agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to collaborate on development and demonstration for Hermes.
Kairos is one of seven developers of non-light water reactors who have officially notified the NRC of their intention to participate in regulatory interactions, the others are General Atomics for the Energy Multiplier Module; X-Energy for the XE-100; TerraPower and GE Hitachi for the sodium reactor; TerraPower for its high-speed reactor for molten chloride; Westinghouse Electric Company for its eVinci microreactor; and Terrestrial Energy USA for its integrated molten salt reactor.
The company has also set up an interactive virtual open house to share information about the project and technology.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
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