Breaking ground on a new approach to construction

[Marlin]

Breaking ground on a new approach to construction

https://www.ans.org/news/article-8048/breaking-ground-on-a-new-approach-to-construction/

[Core Content]

Kairos Power has commenced construction on the Hermes 2 demonstration plant at its Oak Ridge, Tennessee, campus. The facility is designed to produce power by 2030, following a power purchase agreement with Google and the Tennessee Valley Authority. This project follows the development of the nonpower Hermes reactor and multiple engineering test units.

The company is utilizing an iterative development strategy to refine manufacturing and construction techniques before full-scale deployment. By vertically integrating component production and employing advanced methods like electron beam welding and precast concrete, Kairos aims to reduce capital costs and construction timelines. This approach seeks to address historical industry challenges where on-site construction delays have traditionally driven up project expenses.

The drive to Kairos Power's reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it's historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints...

Kairos's Oak Ridge facility is located on the site of the former K-33 gaseous diffusion plant. The history is not lost on project leaders and those working closely with the nuclear energy company as the land is transformed once again, this time into a Reactor Demonstration Campus. That campus will house fluoride salt–cooled high-temperature reactors: the 35-MWt nonpower Hermes and the 50-MWe Hermes 2. Hermes became the first non–light water reactor to be granted a construction permit by the...

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/article-8048/breaking-ground-on-a-new-approach-to-construction/