Full-Time
Senior IC&E Embedded Systems Engineer
Updated on 9/3/2026
Kairos Power
501-1,000 employees
Designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced reactors
Compensation Overview
$140.6k - $165k/yr
Alameda, CA, USA
Remote
Some travel may be required, approximately 10%.
Bachelor's
 Hardware Engineering (1) |
|---|
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- A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field is required.
- Experience in regulated or high-reliability environments such as nuclear, aerospace, or medical is required.
- Six years of relevant engineering experience involving electronic hardware, instrumentation and control systems, or related systems design is required.
- Demonstrated experience in analog and digital circuit design is required.
- Experience with schematic capture and printed circuit board design tools such as Altium, Cadence, or KiCad is required.
- Experience with laboratory instrumentation and debugging is required.
- Advanced working knowledge of analog and digital circuit design principles applicable to instrumentation, controls, and high-reliability electronic systems is required.
- Working knowledge of printed circuit board design principles, including grounding, power distribution, signal integrity, component selection, derating, and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility considerations, is required.
- Ability to independently translate system and hardware requirements into practical hardware designs is required.
- Ability to evaluate design alternatives considering reliability, performance, manufacturability, testability, and cost is required.
- Ability to troubleshoot complex electronic hardware using structured debugging and root-cause-analysis methods is required.
- Ability to develop and execute hardware verification, validation, integration, and qualification test activities is required.
- Ability to interpret technical requirements, standards, specifications, and engineering documentation applicable to assigned work is required.
- Ability to produce clear, accurate, and traceable engineering documentation is required.
- Ability to identify technical risks, communicate their potential impact, and recommend appropriate mitigation actions is required.
- Ability to review the technical work of others and provide constructive engineering feedback is required.
- Ability to work across engineering disciplines and with manufacturing, suppliers, procurement, quality, and testing organizations is required.
- Ability to manage assigned technical work with limited supervision and exercise independent engineering judgment within established requirements and processes is required.
- Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to technical and cross-functional stakeholders is required.
- Ability to provide technical guidance or mentoring to less-experienced engineers within areas of expertise is required.
- Ability to work collaboratively, solve problems efficiently, prioritize safety, transfer knowledge, and identify process efficiencies is required.
- Ability to meet physical demands including ladder and stair use, confined-space movement, prolonged standing or sitting, moving between worksites, handling objects up to 30 pounds, operating machinery or motor vehicles, and using hand tools is required.
- Ability to perform repetitive assembly operations for manufacturing test fixtures and test setups is required.
- Ability to work in office, noisy, enclosed, chemical, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and industrial environments is required.
- Ability to handle hazardous materials, read warning signs, report unsafe conditions, distinguish colors, and wear required personal protective equipment is required.
- Willingness to travel approximately 10% is required or may be required.
- Availability for occasional extended hours supporting launch and critical project timelines is required.
- Authorization by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information is required for work in the facility.
- Design and develop analog and digital circuits for instrumentation, control, and electrical systems, including signal conditioning, power distribution, and control logic.
- Create and review schematics and printed circuit board layouts in collaboration with layout engineers and manufacturers.
- Support system architecture development, interface definition, and hardware integration.
- Contribute to design trade studies balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
- Prototype, integrate, and test hardware.
- Support hardware prototype bring-up, debugging, and validation.
- Develop and execute test plans and procedures for functional and qualification testing.
- Analyze test data and implement design improvements.
- Use laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, power supplies, and data acquisition systems to characterize and troubleshoot hardware.
- Contribute to the design of Reactor Protection System hardware under guidance.
- Apply fault tolerance, redundancy, and fail-safe design principles.
- Interpret and implement requirements derived from nuclear safety standards.
- Identify technical risks and design issues and develop or recommend solutions consistent with system requirements and engineering processes.
- Produce and maintain schematics, design descriptions, interface definitions, test plans, procedures, reports, bills of materials, and configuration records.
- Ensure traceability of requirements, design decisions, and test results.
- Participate in formal design reviews and configuration-control processes.
- Apply configuration management, design control, and change-control processes in accordance with applicable quality requirements.
- Work with manufacturing, procurement, testing, and systems engineering teams.
- Support vendor engagement for fabrication, assembly, and component selection.
- Contribute to resolving integration and production challenges.
- Maintain and expand technical expertise in high-reliability electronics design, nuclear regulatory and quality requirements, and the end-to-end hardware development lifecycle.
- Apply evolving technical knowledge and industry best practices to assigned design, testing, and integration activities.
- Share technical knowledge and lessons learned with team members and contribute to continuous improvement of engineering practices.
- Take increasing ownership of complex technical assignments and provide guidance to less-experienced engineers within areas of expertise.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Experience with printed circuit board layout considerations, including stack-up, routing constraints, and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility awareness.
- Experience with structured root-cause analysis for debugging and failure analysis.
- Exposure to system integration and hardware interfaces.
- Exposure to field-programmable gate arrays or programmable logic, including basic hardware description language, Verilog, and interfacing.
- Experience with embedded systems, microcontrollers, and firmware bring-up.
- Demonstrated contribution to hardware development projects in academic or industry settings.
- Experience taking a design from concept through testing or integration.
Kairos Power designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced nuclear reactors, headed by the KP-FHR which uses fluoride salt coolant and high operating temperatures to generate electricity. The system focuses on low water use and near-zero carbon emissions, pursuing an integrated path from design to regulatory licensing and demonstration to prove safety and economics. The company distinguishes itself by aiming to beat natural gas on cost and by a clear licensing/demo program coupled with environmental and grid-resilience performance. Its goal is to scale safe, affordable nuclear technology through government support, investments, licensing deals, and long-term service agreements to help decarbonize electricity.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$20K
Headquarters
Alameda, California
Founded
2016
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 18, 2026 NuCAMP expands Kairos's Oak Ridge workforce and supply chain pipeline.
- July 16, 2026 KP-BISON validation strengthens Hermes 2 licensing and fuel safety claims.
- April 17, 2026 Hermes 2 groundbreaking advances a 50 MW TVA-delivery path by 2030.
What critics are saying
- Hermes 2 still needs final NRC environmental clearance and commission authorization in fall 2026.
- Commercial rollout depends on Google and TVA, leaving one customer concentration chokepoint.
- If Hermes delays or overruns, Kairos burns capital before proving fleet economics.
What makes Kairos Power unique
- Kairos won the first U.S. Gen IV NRC construction permit in April 2026.
- Its TRISO-fluoride salt design enables low-pressure operation and factory-built modules.
- ORNL, Google, and TVA anchor an unusually deep commercialization ecosystem.
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↑ 0%Kairos Power and seven partners sign MOU to launch NuCAMP nuclear workforce development program in Oak Ridge. Kairos Power just signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2026 with seven regional organizations to launch NuCAMP - the Nuclear Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Precast - in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The idea is straightforward: get local workers ready for careers in nuclear energy before the company's high-temperature, fluoride salt-cooled reactor facilities are up and running in the area. Seven organizations join Kairos Power to form NuCAMP. Eight signatories total put their names on the MOU. Alongside Kairos Power, the partners include 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. That's a wide coalition. Federal research institutions, a flagship state university, two community colleges, a K-12 school system, a construction firm, and a manufacturing innovation hub - all aligned around one shared goal. The agreement ties directly to Kairos Power's reactor development work already underway in Oak Ridge, and as those facilities move from planning into construction and eventually operation, the need for trained workers only grows more pressing. NuCAMP is the formal structure built to meet it. Community colleges are often the most accessible entry point for workers looking to change careers or earn technical credentials without a four-year commitment. Why NuCAMP was created: Growing demand for nuclear-trained workers. Nuclear facilities don't run on general labor. They need workers with specialized skills - advanced manufacturing, precision construction, nuclear operations, safety compliance - that standard workforce pipelines rarely produce at scale. Building a next-generation reactor isn't like putting up a conventional power plant. The technology differs, the regulatory environment is stricter, and the required skill sets are far more specific. Local workforce pipelines weren't designed to supply the volume or type of workers these facilities will need, and that gap isn't unusual - it's a recurring problem whenever advanced energy infrastructure moves faster than the training systems around it. The MOU formalizes a coordinated, multi-institution response. Rather than each organization developing programs independently, NuCAMP creates a shared framework aimed at closing the skills gap before operations begin, not scrambling to fill positions after the fact. What NuCAMP is expected to deliver for the region. NuCAMP's core purpose is to build structured pathways into nuclear manufacturing and operations careers - clear entry points, credential frameworks, and progression routes that workers can actually use. The inclusion of Roane State and Chattanooga State matters here. Community colleges are often the most accessible entry point for workers looking to change careers or earn technical credentials without a four-year commitment. Their participation signals that NuCAMP is designed to reach people across a range of backgrounds and education levels, not just those already working in the nuclear sector. Oak Ridge Schools' involvement takes that logic further still. Bringing a K-12 system into a nuclear workforce initiative is a longer-term play - building awareness and foundational preparation among students who are years away from employment, giving them enough exposure that nuclear careers become a realistic option they've actually considered. Whether NuCAMP delivers at the scale needed remains an open question, but the architecture is intentionally broad, running from middle school through community college and university into active employment at nuclear facilities. Background: Kairos Power's reactor program and the Oak Ridge context. Kairos Power is developing a high-temperature, fluoride salt-cooled reactor - meaningfully different from the light-water reactors that make up most of the existing U.S. nuclear fleet. Fluoride salt cooling operates at higher temperatures and relies on different materials and engineering approaches, which is a large part of why the workforce requirements are so specialized. Oak Ridge isn't a random choice. The city has been a center of nuclear research since the Manhattan Project, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory remains one of the most important nuclear research institutions in the country. That existing knowledge base makes the region a logical home for next-generation reactor development. IACMI and Barnard Construction point to another layer of the workforce picture. Advanced manufacturing and construction trades are central to building nuclear infrastructure, not just operating it. IACMI's composites manufacturing focus and Barnard's construction expertise suggest NuCAMP is thinking about the full lifecycle of facility development - from breaking ground to running the plant. This also reflects a broader pattern taking shape across the nuclear industry: developers working on advanced reactor designs are increasingly forming regional workforce coalitions well ahead of facility completion, because waiting until the doors open to start training workers is, by most accounts, too late. A single MOU focused on nuclear workforce development. NuCAMP brings together eight organizations - Kairos Power, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, IACMI, Barnard Construction, Roane State Community College, Chattanooga State Community College, and Oak Ridge Schools - under a single MOU focused on nuclear workforce development in the Oak Ridge region. The initiative is directly tied to Kairos Power's fluoride salt-cooled reactor facilities currently under development. Its structure spans K-12 education through university and community college training, with the goal of building a regional pipeline of workers ready for nuclear manufacturing and operations careers - before those facilities come online. Kelly Lippke Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they've finished reading.
New plan will train next-generation workers for Tennessee nuclear industry. Knoxville News Sentinel Aug. 28, 2026, 8:12 a.m. ET Kairos Power, the California company building salt-cooled reactors on former Manhattan Project land in Oak Ridge, is launching a new initiative to develop advanced manufacturing and construction techniques while training workers for Tennessee's growing nuclear industry. Announced Aug. 18, the Nuclear Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Precast will bring together Kairos, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and other partners to develop new methods for nuclear facilities. Ed Blandford, co-founder and chief technology officer for Kairos, said the initiative will help the nuclear industry bring affordable advanced reactors to the market. The organizations working with Kairos on the project will spend a year exploring how to advance the initiative. "By combining industry perspectives with the R&D power of our national labs and the strengths of our academic partners through NuCAMP," Blandford said in a news release, "we can create new capabilities that will benefit the entire Tennessee nuclear community and the broader industry at large." Kairos is accustomed to bringing in scientific advancements and partners from Tennessee. The salt-cooling technology its reactors will use was first developed at the Oak Ridge National Lab. Setting up the next generation of nuclear in Tennessee. The Tickle College of Engineering at UT will be among the groups exploring code gaps that limit the use of advanced technologies in nuclear construction. The university, according to the news release, also will pursue the viability of two master's programs focused on "manufacturing engineering for factory-based nuclear production" and "precast concrete construction." Chattanooga State and Roane State community colleges, meanwhile, will look at specialized training for nuclear piping welders and other nuclear manufacturing skills to build a pipeline of workers for the industry's future growth in Tennessee, which is a frontrunner for a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus. Gov. Bill Lee told Knox News earlier this month the campus − a Department of Energy initiative designed to "strengthen and modernize the nation's full nuclear fuel cycle" − could bring $50 billion in capital investments and 25,000 jobs to Tennessee. The governor, who launched the state's dedicated nuclear fund in 2023 to encourage industry growth, was in Knoxville on Aug. 4 to celebrate Oak Ridge being designated by the DOE as an American Energy Hub, further formalizing advancement that has been underway for years at former Cold War-era sites. In a June video announcing the American Energy Hubs initiative, DOE Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh said the program would enable "all kinds of economic development and prosperity" while "lifting up the middle class with good, high-paying jobs." These efforts are well underway in Oak Ridge, where the Department of Energy in 2024 finished cleaning up the former K-25 gaseous diffusion plant used during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. Transformed into the Heritage Center Industrial Park, the site has welcomed a wave of nuclear companies in recent years focused on restoring American uranium enrichment capabilities. "NuCAMP reflects the power of East Tennessee's innovation ecosystem - industry, a national laboratory, and educational institutions working together to solve real deployment challenges," ORNL Director Dr. Stephen Streiffer, said in the news release. Through the lab's research capabilities, Streiffer said, "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." Knox News reporter Sophia Tiedge and editor Ryan Wilusz contributed background from Gov. Bill Lee's visit to Knoxville earlier this month. Mariah Franklin reports on technology and energy for Knox News. Email: [email protected]. Signal: mariahfranklin.01 Deal of the Day Recommendations are independently chosen by its editors. Purchases you make through its links may earn The Oak Ridger, LLC a commission. More Local Stories
Kairos Power announces new collaboration to advance nuclear manufacturing, construction, and workforce in East Tennessee. OAK RIDGE, TN, UNITED STATES, August 18, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - Kairos Power today announced the Nuclear Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Precast (NuCAMP), an initiative focused on maturing new manufacturing and construction methods and developing vocational training for skilled workers in East Tennessee to support the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. Under a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Kairos Power will lead the initiative in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 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. In addition, Kairos Power and international collaborators Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group and Cambridge Vacuum Engineering are exploring opportunities to collaborate on the NuCAMP initiative by providing strategic advisory services in advanced manufacturing and construction. The organizations have agreed to an initial 12-month exploration phase to determine how they can best work together to develop programs to qualify advanced manufacturing and construction methods for nuclear applications and create career pathways for engineers and skilled tradespeople to put those methods into practice. "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 Ed Blandford, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Kairos Power. "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." "NuCAMP reflects the power of East Tennessee's innovation ecosystem - industry, a national laboratory, and educational institutions working together to solve real deployment challenges," said Dr. Stephen Streiffer, Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). "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." "I am excited for the Tickle College of Engineering to be a part of such a comprehensive partnership at many levels of education, research, and development," said Dr. Matthew Mench, Dean of the Tickle College of Engineering. "I can't wait to see what this partnership can accomplish during a time where transformational advances in reactor engineering and construction are greatly needed." A new approach to nuclear construction NuCAMP takes a holistic approach to bringing promising manufacturing and construction methods to the U.S. nuclear industry, incorporating the perspectives of research and development partners, workforce partners, and the companies actively building advanced reactor projects. Kairos Power, MDF, the University of Tennessee's Tickle College of Engineering, and IACMI will provide research, engineering, and manufacturing expertise to advance the technologies and address code gaps that currently limit their use in nuclear construction. Research priorities include but are not limited to: - Precast concrete construction for safety-related nuclear structures - Large-format additive manufacturing to create customized forms for producing precast concrete components - Wire-arc additive manufacturing to produce vessel sections, nozzles, pump parts, and other large components - Electron beam welding to join large metal components with limited distortion Through NuCAMP, teams will explore opportunities to work together to develop technical information to support code, regulatory, and licensing engagement for the innovative new technologies, which are not fully qualified under industry codes governing safety-related nuclear structures and components. New workforce development opportunities NuCAMP also plans to explore how its member organizations can partner to develop new education and training programs for engineers and skilled tradespeople as new manufacturing and construction methods mature. The University of Tennessee-Knoxville will evaluate two proposed master's degree programs: one focused on manufacturing engineering for factory-based nuclear production and another on precast concrete construction. Chattanooga State and Roane State will assess options to add specialized training for nuclear piping welders, precast production technicians, skid manufacturing technicians, and other roles. Oak Ridge Schools will explore expanding its advanced manufacturing and trades pathways for middle and high school students. Together, the programs are intended to create accessible career pathways for Tennessee students and tradespeople, gaining valuable experience working with university faculty, national lab researchers, and industry professionals to develop skills tailor-made to enter the advanced nuclear industry. Building on East Tennessee's strengths Kairos Power's Reactor Demonstration Campus in Oak Ridge will host NuCAMP and provide facilities for manufacturing development, workforce training, and collaboration with nearby research and education partners. The campus includes space planned for precast production, equipment assembly, welding, and additive manufacturing. About Kairos Power Kairos Power is a mission-driven nuclear technology, engineering, and manufacturing company singularly focused on commercializing the fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) - a clean energy solution that can be deployed with robust safety at an affordable cost to enable deep decarbonization. Founded in 2016, the company is applying a rapid iterative development approach and vertical integration strategy to bring advanced reactor technology to market. In 2023, Kairos Power received the first U.S. construction permit for a non-water-cooled reactor to be issued in over 50 years. Kairos Power broke ground in April 2026 on the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which will supply 50 MW of clean electricity to the TVA grid under a multi-plant development agreement with Google. Kairos Power's mission is to enable the world's clean energy transition to improve people's quality of life while protecting the environment. Learn more at kairospower.com. Ashley Lewis Kairos Power +1 619-723-5000 email Alternative Energy Reporter here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. Alternative Energy Reporter do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Nuclear startup Oklo splits its first atoms in test reactor. It's a demonstration of the tech Oklo will use for its medical isotope business - not power plants - but marks a milestone nonetheless for the buzzy firm. 6 August 2026 Oklo, a publicly traded small-modular-reactor firm backed by OpenAI chief Sam Altman, has become one of the highest-profile companies working on next-generation nuclear energy technologies. Two years ago, it debuted on the stock market and became retail investors' go-to for betting on America's atomic renaissance. Yet while the company's valuation rose at one point to nearly $24 billion and its plans expanded into recycling nuclear waste, fabricating its own fuel, and producing medical isotopes, it had yet to split atoms from one of its reactors. That is, until now. On Thursday morning, Oklo announced that its Groves Isotope Test Reactor, a low-power unit the company built on private land south of Austin, Texas, as part of a Department of Energy testing program, had sustained a chain reaction. The reactor is a demonstration version of the technology Oklo will use for its new medical isotope business, though the firm says it will help its efforts to build reactors that generate electricity. Known as achieving criticality, this chain reaction is a necessary if far from sufficient step toward commercialization for nuclear-energy aspirants. Today's announcement - first reported by Canary Media - makes Oklo the fifth of the 10 companies in the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program to split atoms in the past two months. Construction on the Groves test reactor was completed in less than one year. In 2022, Oklo's application for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license was resoundingly rejected. It has yet to resubmit the paperwork for its proprietary 75-megawatt liquid-sodium-cooled power reactors, though the agency granted Oklo its first license to operate a medical isotope reactor in March. As it stands, just two advanced nuclear startups - TerraPower and Kairos - are actively building out reactors in the United States. Oklo is preparing a site near the Idaho National Laboratory for its first small modular reactor but does not yet have permission to work on the reactor itself.
Kairos validates first MSR fuel code. The code evaluates TRISO fuel behaviour in Kairos's fluoride-salt-cooled reactor design, using data from earlier irradiation experiments to help demonstrate fuel safety and performance margins. July 24, 2026 US-based Kairos Power has completed the final verification and validation (V&V) reports for its KP-BISON fuel performance code. As the first code of its kind tailored for a molten salt reactor (MSR), it evaluates behaviour and structural integrity of TRISO (Tristructural Isotropic) fuel particles under high temperatures. Kairos Power is developing Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (KP-FHR) technology, following an iterative approach, moving from non-nuclear engineering test units to demonstration plants and finally a commercial fleet. First concrete for Hermes 1, a 35 MWt non-power reactor designed to demonstrate nuclear heat production, was poured in May 2025. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit for Hermes 2, a two-unit plant (35 MWt each) in November 2024 and Kairos broke ground for the facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in April. Validating the KP-BISON code ensures the TRISO pebbles will perform safely within the Flibe molten salt coolant environment. Flibe is a specialised molten salt mixture made of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. The fuel pebbles contain thousands of poppyseed-sized TRISO particles. Each particle consists of a uranium oxycarbide fuel kernel coated with multiple protective layers of ceramic and carbon materials to prevent the release of fission products. The V&V reports will be submitted to NRC as part of the licensing basis the Hermes 2 demonstration plant. Kairos Power's safety case is based on the combination of robust TRISO fuel Flibe. TRISO fuel particles cannot melt in a KP-FHR and act as individualised containment systems that trap fission products inside. Flibe provides an additional layer of protection by absorbing any fission products that may escape during operation. This combination allows for high-temperature output at near-atmospheric pressure, eliminating the need for costly containment systems. KP-BISON was developed to measure how TRISO particles perform under different stressors within a KP-FHR reactor, including temperature and burnup (or energy extracted from the fuel), which increase pressure inside the fuel kernel. Kairos Power's Modelling and Simulation team began working with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2018 to develop the models and tools within KP-BISON, a modification of the laboratory's BISON code. BISON is a fuel performance code based on experimental data that can be applied to various fuel forms, including light-water reactor fuel rods, TRISO fuel, metallic rod, plate fuel and others. Kairos Power received federal funding in 2019 to tailor the BISON code to assess the performance of its fuel kernel design within the unique operating environment of the KP-FHR and its Flibe coolant. The team selected from existing TRISO models historically used in high-temperature gas reactors to be incorporated into KP-BISON. This enabled the code to analyse and predict fuel performance margins across a range of normal and off-normal KP-FHR operating conditions. To verify KP-BISON, the team confirmed the code's accuracy by performing studies across an extensive test matrix of models and properties to ensure the code computed the correct solutions. The team then validated the code by comparing KP-BISON fuel performance results to real-world irradiation experiment data from the Department of Energy's Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) programme, which used the same fuel specification as Kairos Power's fuel type. "This is the first set of TRISO codes related to the safety of the system that have met this milestone in the U.S., and the first time ever for an application to a salt-cooled reactor," said Ed Blandford, Kairos Power's co-founder and chief technology officer. "All of this work, which involved thousands of pages of calculations and analysis, boils down to the final tool we use to model the fuel and defend against underpredictions of failure." Because KP-FHRs operate outside of the current AGR qualification envelope, Kairos Power will use KP-BISON to support fuel irradiation testing at NRG PALLAS in the Netherlands to demonstrate the performance envelope for KP-FHR operation in line with regulatory requirements. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.