SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION announced on the 22nd that it will sign a strategic business agreement with U.S.-based Kairos Power on the 23rd to advance the demonstration and commercialization of next-generation SMRs. The signing ceremony will take place in New York City during “Climate Week NYC,” in conjunction with an event hosted by JPMorgan.
Founded in 2016, Kairos Power is developing the “KP-FHR (Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor)” technology, which uses molten salt—rather than water—as a coolant. Conventional light-water reactor (LWR) SMRs use water as a coolant, which requires high pressure to keep the water in a liquid state at high temperatures. In contrast, non-LWR reactors that use molten salts or sodium as coolants can operate at high temperatures even under relatively low pressure.
Kairos Power is currently constructing the “Hermes” demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This project is the first non-light-water reactor to receive construction approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in approximately 50 years. The target commissioning date is 2031.
Under the agreement, SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION will participate in the design and constructability review of the Hermes demonstration reactor. Samsung C&T has been collaborating with companies such as NuScale and GVH (GE Vernova Hitachi) to advance light-water SMR projects, primarily in Sweden and Romania. Through this agreement, the company will expand its business scope to include non-light-water SMRs.