Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstalliTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Kairos Power has lined up $643 million for its Tennessee advanced-reactor program: $368 million from private investors and $275 million in U.S. Department of Energy financing. Most of the package supports Hermes 2, an Oak Ridge demonstration plant planned to deliver up to 50 megawatts to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid for electricity demand associated with Google data centers.
How the $643 million package is structured
Bloomberg News reported on October 14, 2026, that Kairos had assembled the combined private and government financing for its Tennessee program. The figures describe funding lined up for the program, not revenue from an operating reactor.
| Funding source | Amount | What is established |
|---|---|---|
| Private investors | $368 million | The private portion of the Tennessee package; CEO Mike Laufer said Samsung C&T provided $70 million, with Google Ventures and DCVC also named among the backers. |
| U.S. Department of Energy financing | $275 million | The federal financing component of the current package. |
| Combined package | $643 million | The total reported by Bloomberg News on October 14, 2026. |
Most of the money is directed to Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge. Some is also earmarked to expand Kairos’s manufacturing capabilities at a New Mexico site, linking the Tennessee build to the company’s effort to produce hardware for later reactors.
Recommended Free Tools
The $70 million Samsung C&T contribution is part of the $368 million private amount, not an additional payment. The same applies to the other private backers identified in the report.
#1 Best Overall
What Hermes 2 is
A demonstration facility in Oak Ridge
Hermes 2 is planned for the former East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Kairos describes it as its first commercial-scale reactor, but it remains a demonstration project rather than an operating commercial nuclear plant.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission classifies the Hermes 2 application as two low-power test reactors supporting Kairos’s fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology, known as KP-FHR. That regulatory description matters: the facility is intended to demonstrate the technology under an NRC construction authorization, not to function initially as a fleet-scale power station.
Rank #2
Planned electrical output
Kairos says Hermes 2 could provide up to 50 megawatts of electricity to the TVA grid. “Up to” is a design and commercial target, not a measured output from an operating unit; the plant has not yet generated power for customers.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →How Google and TVA fit into the project
A power-purchase agreement connects Hermes 2, TVA and electricity demand associated with Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. Under that arrangement, the reactor’s planned output would be delivered to the TVA grid, where it can serve the regional system. The structure does not mean Hermes 2 will be physically dedicated to, or directly wired into, a particular data center.
Hermes 2 is the first delivery under Kairos and Google’s master development agreement. That broader agreement targets 500 megawatts of new advanced-nuclear capacity by 2035. The 50-megawatt Hermes 2 goal is therefore an initial project within a much larger planned program; the 500-megawatt figure is a target, not capacity already built or guaranteed.
Regulatory and construction timeline
| Date | Milestone | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| November 21, 2024 | The NRC issued construction permits for Hermes 2. | The permits authorize construction of the test-reactor project; they do not authorize commercial operation. |
| May 2025 | Kairos began nuclear construction of the earlier Hermes demonstration reactor. | This milestone concerns the Hermes demonstration project, not the later Hermes 2 build. |
| April 2026 | Kairos reported groundbreaking for Hermes 2. | Groundbreaking marks the start of site construction activity, not reactor commissioning. |
| October 14, 2026 | Bloomberg News reported the $643 million financing package. | The report dates the current funding disclosure. |
| By 2030 | Operation is an expectation associated with the project. | This is a forward-looking plan and can change with construction, testing and regulatory work. |
| By 2035 | The Kairos-Google agreement targets 500 megawatts of advanced-nuclear capacity. | This is the target for the broader program, not a promise that all capacity will be online. |
Why the financing is significant
The package combines private risk capital with federal financing for a reactor design that is still moving through demonstration. Private investors provide a commercial signal, while DOE support helps cover the unusually high cost and schedule risk of first-of-a-kind nuclear construction.
Rank #4
Kairos previously said its Hermes demonstration project had support of up to $303 million from the Department of Energy in 2024 through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, alongside Kairos’s own investment. That earlier figure and the current $275 million financing component come from different announcements; they should not be added together without a detailed accounting of commitments and drawdowns.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The 2024 Hermes support also carried a commitment to create at least 55 full-time jobs in East Tennessee. The current financing disclosure adds manufacturing expansion in New Mexico to the project’s economic footprint.
Best Value
What still has to happen
- Construction must progress under the NRC permits issued for Hermes 2.
- Kairos must complete installation, testing and commissioning before any electricity can be supplied to TVA.
- The project must demonstrate that its KP-FHR technology can operate as planned at the facility’s authorized test scale.
- The TVA power-purchase arrangement must be implemented as the plant approaches service.
- Any additional reactors counted toward the 500-megawatt 2035 objective will require their own development, financing and regulatory milestones.
The practical significance of the announcement is that Kairos now has a disclosed $643 million financing package behind its Tennessee demonstration effort and a defined first customer framework through TVA and Google-related demand. It is an important construction and commercialization step, but it is not evidence that Hermes 2 is operating or that the 2035 capacity target has been achieved.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
