Kairos begins construction; Nuclear Company to build US plant fleet
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Kairos Power has begun construction on the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, the first Gen IV reactor to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the company said.
The Hermes reactor is the first non-light water reactor to be permitted in the United States in more than 50 years and represents a critical milestone on the company’s path to commercializing an advanced reactor, it said.
Work by Barnard Construction Company to perform excavation began earlier in July at the Oak Ridge site.
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The plant, built using modular construction techniques with reactor modules fabricated at the manufacturing campus in Albuquerque, is expected to be operational in 2027.
Hermes is a fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor and will use a combination of TRISO-coated particle fuel and molten fluoride salt coolant.
Hermes is a joint effort by Kairos Power and its partners, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), EPRI, and Materion Corporation, while the production of the TRISO fuel will be in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“The lessons we take away from the construction and operation of this reactor will be invaluable to enable continued innovation in our testing program and accelerate Kairos Power’s progress toward delivering true cost certainty to our customers,” said Kairos Power CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer.
Barnard and Kairos will also collaborate to build the third Engineering Test Unit (ETU 3.0) at Oak Ridge, a non-nuclear demonstration which will generate supply chain, construction, and operational experience, Kairos said.
Nuclear Company to build fleet
U.S.-based, fleet-scale nuclear development group, The Nuclear Company, has announced plans to build a series of six, giga-watt scale nuclear plants across the United States.
The company will use proven, licensed nuclear technology through a design-once, build-many approach, through coalitions with communities, regulators, and financial stakeholders, it said.
By focusing on standardized processes and scheduling to sequence work and minimize delays, the company said it can deliver safe and reliable electricity at a low cost.
"The Nuclear Company is working towards solving America’s surging energy demand by redefining how large-scale, nuclear infrastructure projects are delivered," said Juliann Edwards, Chief Development Officer for The Nuclear Company and Chair of U.S. Women in Nuclear.
"We recognize the challenges facing our industry, where one-off nuclear projects historically go over budget and run behind schedule. Our unique approach integrates proven technology with unparalleled collaboration among diverse organizations, ensuring that fleet-scale projects are executed on-time and on-budget.”
The company will first run The Nuclear Frontier bus tour, with stops in six states and Washington DC to engage with government, industry leaders and skilled tradespeople, it said.
Investors at the outset include CIV, True Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Goldcrest Capital, and MCJ Collective.
Rolls-Royce moves to next licensing step
The British Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) are progressing to the second step of the regulatory assessment of Rolls-Royce SMR’s 470 MWe small modular reactor (SMR), they said end of July.
The four-step generic design assessment (GDA) is the formal process in the UK for approving a new reactor.
The Rolls-Royce SMR GDA process began in April 2022 with a year-long initiation step, then moved to Step 2, which is a 16-month assessment focusing on the design’s fundamentals.
It is the first time since the modernized GDA process was launched that Step 2 has been successfully completed, the ONR said.
The process now moves to Step 3, where the ONR will examine information provided in Step 2 with more detail.
“The Rolls-Royce SMR GDA is one of firsts. We are the first regulators to assess this reactor design, determining whether it meets our robust safety, security, safeguards and environmental protection standards in Great Britain. It is also the first time we have followed the modernized GDA process, looking at an SMR design,” said Rob Exley, ONR’s Head of Generic Design Assessment.
Uranium contract prices surge
Long-term uranium contract prices hit over 16-year highs at the end of July due to supply uncertainty and high demand from utilities buying the fuel to expand capacity, Reuters reported.
Nuclear fuel has been in short supply since Russia, a major global supplier, invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting the United States to pass a ban on fuel imports from the country.
The United States imports over 90% of the uranium needed to fuel its nuclear fleet, according to the National Mining Association, mostly from Canada, Kazakhstan, and Russia, as well as smaller producers.
Demand has also soared as electricity demand rises from power-hungry data centers.
Uranium miner Cameco said it was currently locking in ceilings of about $125-130/lb and floors of about $70-75/lb due to a stronger market environment, Reuters said.
Spot prices hit a 14-year high February following a near 88% rise in 2023 to stand at around $82/lb.
By Reuters Events Nuclear