Nuclear startup Kairos Power has secured up to $100 million in funding and engineering support from South Korea’s Samsung group to build a demonstration reactor tailored for Google. The partnership involves a $70 million equity investment alongside in-kind engineering contributions from Samsung C&T, leveraging the industrial giant’s extensive global experience in nuclear plant construction.
This initiative directly addresses the soaring power demands driven by AI data centers, prompting tech giants to seek clean and reliable baseload energy sources. The upcoming 50-megawatt Hermes 2 reactor will utilize an innovative fluoride salt-cooled design combined with TRISO fuel pebbles to enhance safety and prevent catastrophic core meltdowns.
Set for completion by 2030, the project marks the foundational phase of a broader agreement between Google and Kairos Power to deploy half a gigawatt of nuclear capacity by 2035. Bringing Samsung on board provides the startup with the industrial muscle needed to meet this accelerated timeline.
- Samsung invests up to $100 million in nuclear startup Kairos Power.
- Project aims to power Google’s AI data centers with clean nuclear energy.
- Utilizes innovative fluoride salt cooling and safe TRISO fuel technology.
- Target completion for the Hermes 2 reactor is set for 2030.
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