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Google and Kairos are targeting the first deployment for 2030. That is a target—not a guaranteed in-service date—and Hermes 2 still needs to be completed, licensed for operation, fueled, tested, and connected to the grid.
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What Google actually announced
The phrase “Google’s first nuclear site” can refer to several different milestones:
- October 2024: Google and Kairos Power announced an agreement to develop a fleet of advanced reactors capable of providing up to 500 MWe by 2035.
- November 2024: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued construction permits for the Hermes 2 test-reactor facility.
- August 2025: Google, Kairos, and TVA identified Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge as the first site-specific project. It is expected to provide up to 50 MWe to the TVA grid.
- April 2026: Kairos broke ground on Hermes 2.
These are not all the same announcement. The 500-MW figure describes a planned fleet, while Hermes 2 is the first named project under the agreement and is planned at up to 50 MWe.
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Google’s original 2024 announcement is available from Google. The site-specific announcement is described in Google’s Oak Ridge and TVA update.
Where is the nuclear project?
Hermes 2 is being built at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant area and close to Kairos’s lower-power Hermes demonstration project.
Kairos is the reactor developer and project operator. TVA is the utility and grid participant. Google is the commercial customer supporting the project through its power arrangements with Kairos and TVA.
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The NRC’s project overview provides the regulatory location and facility details.
Will Hermes 2 directly power a Google data center?
Not in the simple sense of a private reactor wired directly to one Google campus.
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The announced arrangement is expected to work through TVA’s regional electricity system:
Kairos Hermes 2
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TVA grid
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Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama
Hermes 2 is expected to supply up to 50 MWe to the TVA grid. The arrangement is intended to support Google facilities in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama.
On a shared grid, electrons cannot ordinarily be labeled as coming from one particular generator and traveling to one particular server. The commercial and environmental accounting instead involves grid delivery, power purchases, and associated clean-energy attributes. TVA explains this structure in its overview of nuclear energy and the TVA system.
So “powering Google data centers” is reasonable as a description of the commercial arrangement and regional electricity supply. It should not be read as proof that Hermes 2 will physically supply every electron consumed by a particular Google facility.
What type of reactor is Hermes 2?
Kairos describes Hermes 2 as a fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor, or KP-FHR. It is designed to use TRISO nuclear fuel in pebble form and fluoride salt as its coolant.
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Unlike most operating U.S. reactors, which use high-pressure water systems, the design is intended to operate with a low-pressure molten-fluoride-salt coolant at high temperatures. Supporters say that approach could offer safety and efficiency advantages, but Hermes 2 is still a demonstration project rather than a mature, widely deployed commercial reactor.
Terms such as “advanced reactor,” “Gen IV reactor,” and “small modular reactor” are not interchangeable. Kairos may describe Hermes 2 using some of those industry categories, while the NRC’s regulatory treatment focuses on the specific advanced test-reactor facility and its licensing requirements. Technical details are available from the Kairos project overview and the NRC.
How much electricity will it provide?
The project has two separate capacity numbers:
| Figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Up to 50 MWe | The planned electricity output from Hermes 2 delivered to the TVA grid. |
| Up to 500 MWe by 2035 | The broader aggregate target for the Google-Kairos advanced-reactor fleet. |
The 500-MW target is not the output of the first reactor. It depends on Hermes 2 and additional future projects being developed and completed.
“Up to 50 MWe” is also a maximum stated output, not a guarantee of annual electricity production. Actual generation would depend on construction, licensing, commissioning, reliability, maintenance, grid conditions, and the plant’s operating performance.
When will Google receive nuclear-generated power?
Google and Kairos have identified 2030 as the target for the first deployment. As of August 18, 2026, Hermes 2 was under construction and not producing electricity.
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The April 17 groundbreaking was a significant step, but several milestones remain:
- Complete construction of the demonstration facility.
- Obtain the required NRC authorization to operate.
- Load and qualify the fuel.
- Complete startup, commissioning, and reliability testing.
- Finish the grid interconnection and begin electricity delivery.
A construction permit is not an operating license. The NRC construction permits issued in November 2024 authorize construction of the Hermes 2 test-reactor facility; they do not authorize routine operation. Kairos must still obtain the necessary operating authorization before startup. The distinction is explained in the NRC’s licensing information.
For that reason, the accurate wording is that Google and Kairos are targeting a 2030 first deployment—not that Google’s reactor will definitely be online in 2030.
Why Google is pursuing nuclear power
Google’s interest reflects a broader problem facing cloud and artificial-intelligence infrastructure: data centers require increasing amounts of electricity, and they need dependable power around the clock.
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Wind and solar can provide large quantities of low-carbon electricity, but their output varies with weather and time of day. Batteries, transmission upgrades, demand management, geothermal power, carbon capture, and other technologies can complement them, but each has different costs, timelines, and physical constraints.
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Nuclear generation offers firm electricity with relatively low operational carbon emissions. For Google, advanced nuclear power could help support its 24/7 carbon-free-energy goals while reducing reliance on a congested regional grid. It could also give the company a long-term path to supporting AI growth without relying solely on variable renewable generation.
That does not mean the project immediately solves Google’s electricity challenge. A 50-MWe first project is modest compared with the total demand of a large hyperscale data-center portfolio, and Hermes 2 will not provide operating power until it is licensed and commissioned.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Key risks and uncertainties
- First-of-a-kind execution: Advanced-reactor projects can face design changes, construction delays, and cost overruns.
- Licensing: Hermes 2 still needs operating authorization after its construction permits.
- Fuel supply: Advanced fuel availability can constrain new reactor deployment.
- Schedule: The 2030 date is a target that depends on multiple technical and regulatory milestones.
- Commercial economics: The cost of a demonstration plant may not represent the cost of a mature standardized fleet.
- Grid accounting: A grid-connected plant does not physically route all of its electricity to Google’s servers.
- Long-term nuclear obligations: Waste management, security, emergency planning, workforce requirements, and eventual decommissioning remain relevant.
- Fleet risk: The 500-MW goal depends on multiple future projects, not only successful completion of Hermes 2.
How this differs from Google’s other nuclear efforts
Google is pursuing several nuclear and nuclear-adjacent strategies, but they should not be combined into one “Google nuclear plant.”
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- Elementl Power: A separate collaboration focused on nuclear-energy site development.
- NextEra Energy: A separate effort involving the potential restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa.
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems: A separate fusion-energy purchase agreement, not a conventional fission reactor project.
Google is also pursuing other firm or low-carbon energy approaches, including geothermal and carbon capture. These initiatives have different technologies, owners, locations, regulatory statuses, and expected timelines. The Elementl collaboration, Duane Arnold effort, and carbon-capture project should therefore be understood separately.
What this means for businesses and investors
There is no consumer subscription or retail product that lets an individual buy electricity directly from Hermes 2. This is an enterprise infrastructure project involving a reactor developer, a regional utility, a hyperscale technology company, regulators, construction firms, and future energy suppliers.
The commercial opportunities are in areas such as advanced-reactor development, engineering, fuel supply, grid interconnection, data-center siting, power-purchase agreements, and energy finance. Google has not disclosed a consumer-facing nuclear-power plan or public project pricing for the Google-Kairos-TVA arrangement.
Quick Recap
What has happened so far
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| October 14, 2024 | Google and Kairos announce a planned advanced-reactor fleet of up to 500 MWe by 2035. |
| November 21, 2024 | The NRC issues construction permits for the Hermes 2 test-reactor facility. |
| August 18, 2025 | Google, Kairos, and TVA identify Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge as the first site-specific project, with up to 50 MWe planned for the TVA grid. |
| April 17, 2026 | Kairos breaks ground on Hermes 2. |
| August 18, 2026 | The plant remains under construction and is not operating. |
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