Samsung C&T agrees to provide up to US$100M for Kairos Hermes 2
The Sept. 21 term sheet mixes direct investment and engineering services, requires approvals and leaves Samsung's cash share and equity stake undisclosed.
Ines Halvorsen
Up to US$100 million for the Hermes 2 nuclear demonstration plant went under a binding term sheet on Sept. 21, when Samsung C&T KRX028260 agreed to invest in privately held Kairos Power and supply engineering services. The joint announcement describes a ceiling of US$100 million, split between direct investment and services, but gives no amount for either component. Kairos is the investment counterparty, and neither partner disclosed an equity stake, a payment schedule or a term for the arrangement.
The commitment is subject to regulatory approvals, which the companies did not identify or date in their Sept. 21 release. The release gives no amount already paid. For Samsung shareholders, the published exposure is therefore an upper limit on a mixed package of capital and work, rather than a disclosed amount already spent or a priced construction contract.
Samsung also agreed to join Kairos's integrated engineering, procurement and construction team. Its initial work will focus on power generation systems and the balance of plant, while Kairos retains responsibility for the nuclear island's reactor technology, engineering, manufacturing, procurement and construction. The release assigns no value or delivery deadline to Samsung's engineering scope.
The term sheet advances an Aug. 18 memorandum of understanding that Samsung, Kairos and privately held Barnard Construction signed to frame project execution. That earlier document was an initial framework; the Sept. 21 announcement calls the investment term sheet binding but still conditions the package on approvals. It does not state when those approvals will be sought or whether Samsung's future work requires separate contracts.
“We look forward to working with the Samsung C&T team to strengthen the integrated capabilities needed to deliver high-quality advanced reactors to customers with greater cost and schedule certainty,” Kairos Power chief executive Mike Laufer said in the joint release.
Kairos Holds the Hermes 2 Construction Permits
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued construction permits to Kairos on Nov. 21, 2024, for Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The NRC describes two test reactors rated at 35 megawatts of thermal power each, with a shared steam power conversion system. Those thermal ratings do not establish a date or a contracted quantity of electricity for sale.
The permit record names Kairos as the applicant and permit holder. Samsung's proposed investment does not change the permit holder named by the NRC, and a construction permit does not itself set a commercial generation date. The NRC's status page, updated Sept. 15, lists the construction approval, but no operating date.
The initial Samsung scope covers equipment and plant systems outside the nuclear island. The Sept. 21 release does not price that work per megawatt-hour, set a procurement deadline for turbines or fuel, or identify an electricity buyer for Hermes 2. Those gaps leave no public basis for estimating revenue or a first-power date from this term sheet.
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The next gate is approval of Samsung's investment. As of the Sept. 21 announcement, neither partner had given a decision date, a date for funding to close or a first-power date for Hermes 2.
