Samsung C&T agrees to join Kairos Power’s EPC team for Hermes 2 in Tennessee

Kairos Power and Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group announced on 21 September 2026 that they signed a binding term sheet for a strategic investment by Samsung C&T in Kairos Power and for collaboration on deploying Kairos Power’s fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology (KP-FHR). Samsung C&T agreed to provide up to $100 million through a combination of direct investment and in-kind engineering services, subject to regulatory approvals. The funding is intended to enable delivery of the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Samsung C&T also agreed to join Kairos Power’s integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) team for Hermes 2 and future KP-FHR plants. The companies plan to collaborate on selected engineering and construction activities, initially focused on power-generation systems and the balance of plant, while Kairos Power plans to lead reactor technology, engineering, manufacturing, procurement and construction for the nuclear island. The term sheet builds on a memorandum of understanding that Samsung C&T, Kairos Power and Barnard Construction signed on 18 August.

Kairos Power said Hermes 2 received construction permits from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December 2024 and broke ground in Oak Ridge in April 2026. The grid-connected reactor is rated at 50 MWe. The release describes a binding term sheet and an EPC-team role rather than an EPC contract value, and the investment remains subject to regulatory approvals.