Kyoto Fusioneering announced that it will be establishing the first pilot factory for power generation through nuclear fusion in the hopes of producing CO2-free energy.
Kyoto Fusioneering is a startup located at Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. CEO Taka Nagao commented that the company aims to commence factory operation within five years, and claimed that the company has now obtained partial funds, with designs also currently underway.
The startup stated that aside from a reactor that is capable of generating heat energy and producing a small level of electricity, the pilot factory will also be equipped with a heat exchanger and turbine, and is expected to generate tens of kilowatts.
Taka commented that despite experimental reactors in both Japan and overseas that have verified feasibility of power generation through nuclear fusion, factories that can actually generate power from the particular method is considered as relatively rare.
An investment founded by Kyoto University has provided partial funds for this project, and was guided by CEO Taka Nagao and Satoshi Konishi, professor at the Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, in 2019.
Kyoto Fusioneering will develop the equipment for the nuclear fusion reactor, including a piece of key equipment that effectively collects nuclear reactors and produces heat at 100 million °C, and the factory will be used to collect data for the corresponding equipment R&D.
In order to invest several billions into the project, the startup has managed to raise JPY1.3 billion from the investment fund, which comprises of funds from Japanese investment companies that are supported by the country, and plans to take out a loan from the MUFG.
The startup will be negotiating with the Japanese government and the municipal administration on details including the confirmed location for the factory.
Nuclear fusion power generation converts energy produced by nuclear fusion into electricity. According to experts, it bears differences from nuclear power generation through fission as nuclear fusion is regarded as a safer process, unlike nuclear power stations that would produce highly active nuclear wastes.
Fusion energy has started to receive global attention since US startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems had received investment from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Google last year.
The Japanese government is also looking into studies and development of fusion energy that would transform the direction into a method in obtaining clean energy in order to combat global warming. The country will be forming a task force in the near future to amplify support on the specific area.
(Cover photo source: shutterstock)