Kairos Power

Growing from a broad research effort at U.S. universities and national laboratories, Kairos Power was founded to accelerate the development of an innovative nuclear technology that has the potential to transform the energy landscape in the United States and internationally.  Kairos Power is focused on reducing technical risk through a novel approach to test iteration often lacking in the nuclear space. Our schedule is driven by the goal of a U.S. demonstration plant before 2030 and a rapid deployment thereafter. The challenge is great, but so too is the opportunity.

kai∙ros (def.): the right or opportune moment

Kairos is an ancient Greek word that relates the importance of timeliness and a call to action. Today, Kairos Power exists to accelerate innovation in nuclear power and enable affordable access to clean energy.

How it Works

The Kairos Power FHR (KP-FHR) is a novel advanced reactor technology that leverages TRISO fuel in pebble form combined with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant. The technology uses an efficient and flexible steam cycle to convert heat from fission into electricity and to complement renewable energy sources.

How We Are Achieving This

Kairos is set apart by its integrated design philosophy, testing program, and licensing approach to deliver its mission of reliable, responsible, and competitive power. The FHR is being designed with characteristics important to our customers: License-ability, constructability, operability, responsibility.

• Kairos Power has developed a model-to-learn process that supports ongoing planning, designing, building and testing to better enable the transition to clean energy. This agile strategy will reduce costs while allowing Kairos Power to build smarter and faster, developing innovative nuclear technologies to transform the worldwide energy landscape.
• Kairos Powers test program enables component development by narrowing the design space through progressive test cycles. Through these accelerated test cycles and applied engineering, teams are empowered to collaborate and learn, building on ongoing achievements. Unique experimental facilities and capabilities support Kairos Powers rapid technology demonstration. The test program also provides validation and qualification data to support the licensing basis for the KP-FHR.
• Kairos Powers licensing strategy reduces licensing risk and facilitates licensing certainty for customers via active pre-application engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) during the design process prior to plant construction. Licensing process improvements are anticipated by implementation of the Licensing Modernization Project (LMP), which provides a methodology for the identification and focus on safety significant portions of the design and safety analysis during the licensing review. The pre-application engagements further support the focus on key technical and analysis issues and utilize a phased licensing approach, including submission of topical and technical reports and a preliminary safety information document.