Kairos Power secures up to $100M from Samsung C&T for nuclear reactor project

Kairos Power just locked in a major construction partner with deep pockets. Samsung C&T’s Engineering & Construction Group has committed up to $100 million to help build the Hermes 2 nuclear demonstration plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a 50-megawatt reactor that represents the bleeding edge of advanced nuclear technology in the US. The deal, structured as a binding term sheet, includes both direct equity investment and in-kind engineering services. Samsung C&T won’t just be writing checks. The South Korean conglomerate’s construction arm will embed directly into the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction team, initially focusing on power generation systems and balance-of-plant infrastructure. Why Samsung is betting on American nuclear The investment follows a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed on August 18, 2026, which also included Barnard Construction. That MOU laid the groundwork for what has now become a concrete financial commitment, pending regulatory approvals. Kairos Power’s reactor design, called the KP-FHR (fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor), uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant, which operates at atmospheric pressure rat...