No SMR nuclear plants have been built or operated in the U.S. as of yet, but Hermes 2 could be the first under Kairo’s original long term PPA with TVA to bolster Google’s capacity needs. The deal eventually could put about 500 MW of new, advanced reactor projects into motion into the 2030s.

A predicted 125 GW of future AI and data center additional capacity is motivating tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and Google to seek out nuclear energy for its baseload and carbon-free attributes.

“To power the future, we need to grow the availability of smart, firm energy sources,” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy, in a statement. “This collaboration with TVA, Kairos Power, and the Oak Ridge community will accelerate the deployment of innovative nuclear technologies and help support the needs of our growing digital economy while also bringing firm carbon-free energy to the electricity system.

“Lessons from the development and operation of the Hermes 2 plant will help drive down the cost of future reactors, improving the economics of clean firm power generation in the TVA region and beyond,” Corio added.

Both the Biden and Trump presidential administrations have called for increased nuclear capacity to bridge goals of both environmental sustainability and grid resiliency. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy created a pilot program to accelerate advanced reactor development and selected 10 companies to try developing a project to achieve criticality by next July 4. Kairos Power is not among those companies in the DOE pilot.

“The deployment of advanced nuclear reactors is essential to U.S. AI dominance and energy leadership,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement. “The Department of Energy has assisted Kairos Power with overcoming technical, operational, and regulatory challenges as a participant in the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, and DOE will continue to help accelerate the next American nuclear renaissance.”

Google has data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama. Kairos Power hopes to start operations on the Hermes 2 reactor by 2030, although construction has yet to commence.

SMR nuclear advocates say that developing smaller reactors with passive safety features will offer a faster and less expensive nuclear project than conventional build-outs such as the Vogtle 3 and 4 expansions in Georgia.

Corporate first to back SMR nuclear