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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteGoogle did not buy an operating nuclear power plant. On October 14, 2024, it signed a Master Plant Development Agreement with Kairos Power to support up to 500 megawatts of advanced nuclear generation in the United States by 2035. The first project, Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is now under construction and is targeted to supply up to 50 megawatts of electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid by 2030.
That makes the agreement a major corporate bet on next-generation nuclear power—not a completed reactor purchase or a guarantee that 500 megawatts will reach Google’s facilities by 2030.
The deal in one minute
| Question | What the public announcements establish |
|---|---|
| When was it announced? | October 14, 2024 |
| Who is developing the reactors? | Kairos Power |
| What is the broader target? | Up to 500 MWe in the United States by 2035 |
| What is the first project? | Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee |
| What is Hermes 2’s target? | Up to 50 MWe for the TVA grid, targeted for 2030 |
| Who supplies the electricity? | TVA, through its grid and contractual arrangements |
Google described the 2024 arrangement as the first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors that still need to be developed. The companies did not publicly disclose the reactor-by-reactor prices, penalties, cancellation rights, final sites, or detailed delivery obligations. Read the original announcements from Google and Kairos.
What Google actually agreed to
The 2024 Master Plant Development Agreement is a multi-project framework. It is intended to help Kairos develop and deploy a fleet of advanced reactors, with up to 500 MWe planned by 2035. The first deployment was targeted for 2030.
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That wording matters. The agreement does not publicly establish a fixed number of reactors, a complete list of locations, a guaranteed 500-MW delivery quantity, or a public per-megawatt-hour price. “Up to 500 MWe” is a maximum portfolio target, not the output of Hermes 2 and not necessarily the amount delivered in 2030.
How TVA fits in
The later Google–Kairos–TVA arrangement adds the utility structure. Kairos is expected to sell Hermes 2’s power to TVA, which supplies the grid serving Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. Google receives the associated clean-energy attributes through the TVA system.
In practical terms, this is closer to a utility-mediated power-purchase and clean-energy procurement arrangement than to Google owning or directly operating a nuclear station. The reactor will not function as an isolated plant physically connected only to Google servers. Electricity flows through the regional grid, while contracts and environmental attributes determine how the supply is credited to Google.
See the Google project update and Kairos’ TVA announcement.
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What Kairos is building
Kairos is developing a fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor, commonly referred to as the KP-FHR. Molten fluoride salt carries heat away from the reactor core rather than using water as the primary coolant. The design uses TRISO fuel, in which fuel particles are embedded in small, pebble-like fuel elements.
The NRC describes Hermes 2 as using high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, and TRISO fuel. The agency’s public description of the permitted test-reactor configuration lists two 35-MWth units sharing a steam-powered Rankine conversion system. MWth means megawatts of thermal heat; MWe means megawatts of electricity delivered to the grid. They are not interchangeable measures.
Kairos and Google describe the later commercial-scale Hermes 2 deployment as delivering up to 50 MWe. Readers should therefore distinguish the NRC-listed test-reactor configuration from the larger commercial demonstration concept described in the companies’ announcements. The NRC project page provides the regulatory and technical description.
What has happened so far?
- October 14, 2024: Google and Kairos announce the agreement for up to 500 MWe by 2035.
- November 21, 2024: The NRC issues Hermes 2 construction permits.
- 2025: Kairos advances safety-related nuclear construction and the TVA arrangement identifies Hermes 2 as the first deployment under the Google relationship.
- April 17, 2026: Kairos breaks ground on the Hermes 2 demonstration plant in Oak Ridge.
- 2030 target: Hermes 2 is expected to begin supplying power to the TVA grid.
- 2035 target: The broader Kairos fleet under the Google agreement is intended to reach up to 500 MWe.
The NRC permits are an important milestone, but they do not mean that Hermes 2 is operating. Construction must be completed, fuel must be available and licensed for use, testing and commissioning must occur, and further regulatory and grid requirements must be satisfied before commercial power operation. Both 2030 and 2035 are targets, not guaranteed dates. Kairos’ groundbreaking announcement and the NRC licensing documents provide the dated record.
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Is Hermes 2 a commercial reactor?
It depends on which description is being used. Kairos calls Hermes 2 its first commercial-scale reactor and a demonstration plant. The NRC’s public materials describe the permitted facility as a test-reactor facility.
The safest conclusion is that Hermes 2 is intended to demonstrate a commercial-scale deployment pathway. It is not an operating commercial reactor, and it does not have the operating history of conventional light-water reactors. Its performance, construction cost, fuel supply, licensing process, and ability to produce electricity reliably will all influence whether Kairos can build repeat units.
Why Google wants nuclear power
Artificial-intelligence and cloud-computing data centers require large amounts of electricity around the clock. Solar and wind power can reduce emissions, but their output varies with weather and time of day. Depending on the location, serving a continuous load may require transmission, storage, demand management, or other firming resources.
Nuclear power is attractive to Google because it can provide firm, low-carbon generation with a high utilization profile. Google has said the arrangement supports its goal of adding 24/7 carbon-free electricity while expanding data-center capacity and helping decarbonize the wider grid.
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However, “24/7 carbon-free energy” should not be confused with every Google server receiving physical electrons from Hermes 2 every hour. A power-purchase agreement and clean-energy certificates are accounting and procurement mechanisms operating within a connected grid. Their climate value depends on the contractual structure, timing, location, and treatment of the associated energy attributes.
Why the agreement matters beyond Google
For Google
The deal could provide a source of firm, carbon-free electricity for data-center growth and give Google an early role in helping commercialize a technology that needs first customers. It may also diversify Google’s strategy beyond renewable-energy purchases.
For Kairos
A large technology company gives Kairos an anchor customer and a potential basis for investments in manufacturing, fuel, licensing, and project development. A successful first project could become a reference design for repeat orders. A delay or major cost overrun would expose the risks of a first-of-a-kind reactor.
For TVA and the regional grid
If completed, Hermes 2 would add a new generation source in the TVA system while allowing TVA to manage delivery through its regulated utility framework. It would also provide an early test of how an advanced reactor can be contracted to serve large industrial electricity demand.
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For the nuclear industry
Hyperscalers can act as demand-side sponsors for new nuclear projects, potentially helping developers move from prototypes to repeat construction. But one agreement does not prove that advanced nuclear is cost-competitive or ready for rapid nationwide deployment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The main unresolved risks
- Schedule: A first-of-a-kind design must move from construction through fuel loading, testing, licensing, and grid operation on an aggressive timeline.
- Cost: The initial unit must absorb engineering, regulatory, supply-chain, and construction costs that could decline only if later units are standardized and repeated.
- Fuel: HALEU and TRISO fuel supply are potential bottlenecks. The Department of Energy has warned that HALEU availability could delay advanced-reactor deployment; that does not establish that Hermes 2 specifically lacks fuel.
- Regulation: A construction permit authorizes construction under permit conditions. It is not an operating license and is not proof of successful commercial operation.
- Grid and accounting: Google’s facilities consume electricity across the TVA system, so the claimed clean-energy relationship depends partly on how power and environmental attributes are contracted and accounted for.
- Economics: The public announcements do not disclose Google’s price, premium, minimum purchase obligation, cost-sharing terms, or who bears overruns. No reliable affordability or profitability conclusion can be drawn from the headline.
- Portfolio execution: Reaching 500 MWe requires additional siting, permitting, financing, manufacturing, fuel, utility, and construction decisions beyond Hermes 2.
- Local impacts: Oak Ridge has a long nuclear history, but community acceptance, water use, waste handling, emergency planning, transportation, and environmental review remain relevant questions.
DOE information on the HALEU allocation process explains why fuel availability is a sector-wide issue.
How this compares with other data-center power strategies
| Strategy | Potential advantage | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Existing nuclear PPAs | Uses operating plants and may offer a faster path to nuclear attributes | Available capacity and transmission are limited by region |
| Renewables plus storage | More mature procurement market | May require substantial storage, transmission, or other firming for continuous demand |
| Battery storage | Helps balance short-duration fluctuations | Generally is not a substitute for continuous or multi-day generation by itself |
| Natural gas generation | Can be faster to deploy in some markets | Creates fuel-price and emissions risks |
| Grid upgrades and demand response | Can reduce peak demand and improve procurement efficiency | May not supply all firm power needed by expanding AI campuses |
| Other advanced reactors | Offers additional technology and contracting choices | Many designs remain future-deployment propositions rather than widely available power services |
Google’s arrangement is distinctive because it is linked to a new advanced-reactor fleet rather than simply purchasing power from an existing nuclear plant. Other developers, including Oklo, X-energy, and TerraPower, are pursuing different designs and commercial models.
What investors and energy buyers should watch
The most revealing milestones will be more specific than the original 500-MW headline:
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- Whether the required fuel supply and regulatory approvals are secured.
- What event Google’s 2030 target actually means: first nuclear heat, first electricity, commercial operation, or contractual delivery.
- Whether the project reaches its planned 50 MWe output.
- How much of the portfolio is formally committed versus merely contemplated.
- Whether additional sites and reactor counts become public.
- Who bears cost overruns, delays, and shortfalls.
- Whether later units can be built repeatedly at an acceptable cost.
There is no ordinary consumer product or public signup plan attached to this agreement. It is an institutional infrastructure arrangement relevant to utilities, data-center developers, industrial power users, and professional energy buyers—not a retail investment or household electricity offer.
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