A company seeking to build a small modular demonstration reactor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site has received a qualified endorsement from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission advisory panel.
Kairos Power said last week on Twitter the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards has recommended issuance of the construction permit for the non-power version of the Hermes reactor.
“A scaled demonstration plant like Hermes will be valuable to test key technical elements, design features, safety functions, and equipment performance for this technology,” the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards said in a letter dated May 16.
“There is confidence that the facility can be constructed in accordance with relevant regulations,” the advisory committee said. “The construction permit for Hermes should be approved.”
The California-based company Kairos is working with the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a test version of its advanced reactor on remediated K-33 uranium enrichment complex land at the Oak Ridge Site.
The non-power reactor will serve as a scaled demonstration plant for the Kairos Power salt‐cooled, fluoride high-temperature reactor, according to the advisory committee.
