The world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) was announced on the 14th Oct 2024. Kairos Power’s high-temperature SMRs will deliver much-needed 24/7 carbon-free electricity to meet Google’s growing data center demand. This agreement is part of a broader strategy to develop and commercialise a wide portfolio of advanced clean energy technologies for Google’s global operations. Just a year ago, Google announced a partnership with Fervo Energy, a next-gen geothermal technology developer.

‍

SMRs using gas, liquid metal, or salt as the primary coolant—such as Kairos’ reactors—are also among the most promising technologies for coal plant repowering. These high-temperature reactors, capable of reaching up to 600°C, can match the operating conditions of coal-fired power plants. With a global coal fleet exceeding 2 TW, the potential for coal repowering is immense.

‍

In 2021, we published together with Kairos Power a peer-reviewed paper, Techno-Economic Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Unit Decarbonization Retrofit with KP-FHR Small Modular Reactors, which examined the repowering of the 460 MW Łagisza coal power plant in Poland. The analysis not only demonstrated the seamless integration of Kairos’s reactor with a coal plant but also showed a potential investment reduction of up to 35% compared to greenfield investments.

‍

From a quick analysis using RepowerScore we can see that there are 20 coal plant sites in the US scoring higher than 95/100 for a site repurposing.

‍

We are excited to see the Kairos Power team achieve this incredible milestone!‍