Kairos Energy is developing a molten salt manufacturing facility in Albuquerque to offer coolant for its Hermes reactor in Tennessee. The mission is a part of the DOE’s Complex Reactor Demonstration Program and objectives to create blank power era at an inexpensive value. Molten salt checking out is underway, with plans for business deployment within the close to long term.
Picture courtesy of Kairos Energy
A rendering of the Salt Manufacturing Facility to be constructed at Kairos Energy’s Production Construction Campus close to Albuquerque, N.M.
Kairos Energy began development on a brand new facility in Albuquerque, N.M., that can produce “Flibe” molten salt coolant for its Hermes reactor, the federal Place of work of Nuclear Power introduced.
Hermes is one in every of a number of initiatives supported by way of the U.S. Division of Power’s (DOE) Complex Reactor Demonstration Program.
The low-power reactor is being inbuilt Oak Ridge, Tenn., and may well be operational as early as 2027.
Hub for Hermes
The brand new salt manufacturing facility would be the newest addition to the Kairos Energy Production Construction Campus in Albuquerque.
Building and operation of the brand new facility is expected to lead to an extra 20-30 full-time, high-paying jobs. TIC-The Commercial Co. of Woodlands, Texas, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corp., will function the mission’s common contractor.
Picture courtesy of Kairos Energy
Many Hermes parts will likely be fabricated on the web site, which contains amenities for part production, force vessel manufacturing, modular reactor development, gasoline fabrication procedure construction and non-nuclear prototype checking out.
The salt manufacturing facility will produce reactor-grade Flibe, which is a chemically solid mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride salts, that will likely be used to chill Hermes’ TRISO-fueled pebble mattress design and make allowance it to perform close to atmospheric force.
Kairos Energy plans for the salt manufacturing facility to be operational and generating salt in 2026.
“The amenities we’re construction in Albuquerque will play a pivotal function in deploying Kairos Energy’s blank power era with tough protection at an inexpensive value,” mentioned Kairos Energy CTO and co-founder Ed Blandford. “With the addition of molten salt coolant manufacturing, Kairos Energy’s Production Construction Campus will quickly have all of the functions we wish to ship the Hermes reactor and identify a reputable trail to scale up manufacturing for the economic fleet.”
“Kairos Energy continues to make spectacular strides against demonstrating the Hermes reactor,” mentioned performing Deputy Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Reactors Brian Smith. “DOE is proud of the corporate’s growth on its Complex Reactor Demonstration Program Possibility Relief mission, and we sit up for seeing what Kairos accomplishes subsequent.”
DOE is making an investment as much as $303 million to reinforce the design, development and commissioning of the Hermes mission.
What is Subsequent?
Hermes is the primary complicated reactor to obtain a development allow from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Fee.
Building at the mission began previous this yr in Tennessee and may well be finished once 2027.
The corporate wrapped up molten salt checking out on its first, large-scale non-nuclear prototype in July and is operating to construct a 2nd iteration on the campus to reveal the reactor’s modular design.
Hermes is being constructed to tell the overall design of Kairos Energy’s business reactor which may well be deployed within the subsequent decade.
