First power-producing Gen IV reactor breaks ground

Kairos Power — Kairos broke ground on Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge — the first power-producing Gen IV reactor with an NRC construction permit. The molten-salt-cooled plant will feed up to 50 MW to TVA, powering Google data centers. On 21 Sep 2026 Samsung C&T committed up to $100M — about $70M in equity, the rest as engineering services — and joined the build as a construction partner.