Kairos Power, others launch NuCAMP to develop nuclear workforce

As Kairos Power's high-temperature, fluoride salt-cooled reactor facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn., take shape, the company is partnering with multiple regional groups to prepare the local workforce for new nuclear career opportunities.

Kairos has signed a memorandum of understanding with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), Barnard Construction, Roane State Community College, Chattanooga State Community College, and Oak Ridge Schools to form the Nuclear Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Precast, or NuCAMP.

The Kairos Reactor Demonstration Campus will host NuCAMP, providing facilities for manufacturing development, workforce training, and collaboration, according to the company. These facilities will have space for precast concrete production, assembly, welding, and additive manufacturing.

The parties have agreed to an initial 12-month exploratory phase to determine the best path forward, such as what programs and career pathways should be considered and developed.

"Delivering affordable advanced reactors at scale will require more than a strong design. We need innovative manufacturing processes, the code basis to qualify them, and people with the right skills to apply them in building new nuclear facilities," said cofounder and chief technology officer Ed Blandford. "By combining industry perspectives with the R&D power of our national labs and the strengths of our academic partners through NuCAMP, we can create new capabilities that will benefit the entire Tennessee nuclear community and the broader industry at large."

"Through DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL and our broader research capabilities, we look forward to helping mature advanced manufacturing and construction methods for the nuclear industry while supporting the workforce needed to bring next-generation reactors to market," added Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Stephen Streiffer.

Building the workforce: In one example of the work envisioned, Kairos will team up with ORNL, the University of Tennessee, and the IACMI to apply research, engineering, and manufacturing expertise to develop technologies that could be applied to nuclear construction, and address any code gaps preventing their use. Some research priorities could include precast concrete construction, large-format additive manufacturing, wire-arc additive manufacturing, and electron beam welding.

Kairos has explored these methods while constructing, testing, and manufacturing its Hermes test reactors and facilities. For instance, Kairos has used precast concrete for shielding structures, 3D-printed large composite structures, and opted for electron beam welding over traditional arc welding to fabricate its Engineering Test Unit 3 reactor vessel.

In another partnership, the University of Tennessee will evaluate two potential master's degree programs. One would focus on manufacturing engineering for factory-based nuclear construction and another would focus on precast concrete construction. Other postsecondary institutions, like Chattanooga State and Roane State community colleges, would look at how to add specialized training for jobs in places like nuclear pipe welding, precast production, and skid manufacturing.

To attract interest at an earlier age, Oak Ridge Schools will look at expanding its advanced manufacturing and trades pathways at the middle school and high school levels.

Kairos also said it will collaborate with Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group and Cambridge Vacuum Engineering to explore and provide strategic advisory services in advanced manufacturing and construction.