NextFin news, On August 18, 2025, Google, Kairos Power, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced a landmark agreement to develop and deploy the Hermes 2 advanced nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This collaboration marks the first power purchase agreement (PPA) in the United States for electricity generated from a Generation IV nuclear reactor.
Under the agreement, TVA will purchase up to 50 megawatts of electricity from Kairos Power's Hermes 2 plant, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2030. The electricity will be supplied to TVA's grid, which powers Google's data centers located in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama. Google will receive clean energy attributes from the plant to support its data center operations with locally sourced, carbon-free power every hour of every day.
The Hermes 2 reactor is a fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature small modular reactor (SMR) that uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant and TRISO particle fuel in pebble form. It operates at high temperatures and near atmospheric pressure, offering inherent safety features. The reactor's design was approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in November 2024, making it the first non-light-water Gen IV reactor permitted in the U.S. in over 50 years.
Kairos Power, based in California, has been developing this advanced nuclear technology since 2016. The Hermes 2 plant was originally designed as a 28-megawatt two-reactor facility but has been redesigned as a single 50-megawatt unit to accelerate clean energy delivery to Google. The plant will be located at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, alongside Kairos Power's Hermes 1 test reactor and potentially a fuel fabrication facility.
Scott Hunnewell, vice president of TVA's New Nuclear Program, stated that this partnership demonstrates how a public power provider, a technology developer, and a tech company can collaborate to expand nuclear energy deployment. Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's Global Head of Data Center Energy, emphasized that lessons learned from Hermes 2 will help reduce costs and improve the economics of clean firm power generation in the TVA region and beyond.
This agreement builds on a previous deal signed in October 2024 between Google and Kairos Power to develop a fleet of advanced nuclear plants totaling 500 megawatts by 2035. The partnership aims to meet the surging electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing data centers.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public utility, will be the first U.S. utility to buy power from a Gen IV nuclear reactor, marking a significant milestone in the commercialization of advanced nuclear technology. The Hermes 2 plant will provide 24/7 carbon-free electricity to support the growing energy needs of Google's data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
Sources: CNBC (August 18, 2025), E&E News by POLITICO (August 18, 2025), Power Engineering Magazine (August 18, 2025), WBIR (August 18, 2025), Crossville Chronicle (August 18, 2025), 3B Media News (August 18, 2025)
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