Fusion Nexus: Advancing Japan-US Partnership
On February 27, the Fusion Industry Association, Embassy of Japan, and Japan Fusion Energy Council (J-Fusion) hosted the event “Fusion Nexus: Advancing Japan-US Partnership.” The event followed the FIA’s two-day Annual Policy Conference, a space for leaders in government, industry, science, and academia to come together and discuss ways to accelerate the path to fusion commercialization.
Japan and the US have robust ties, collaborating on areas ranging from science to energy security. This event highlighted how bilateral cooperation between the two continues through collaboration on various aspects of the fusion industry: research and development, supply chain, regulations, and industry and investment collaboration.
The event started with opening remarks from Yuka Suzuki, Science Counselor of the Embassy of Japan; Andrew Holland, CEO of FIA; and Satoshi Konishi, Chair of J-Fusion and Co-Founder/CEO of Kyoto Fusioneering. The remarks addressed the need for win-win collaborations, while also recognizing that competition moves us forward.
Keynote remarks followed, focusing on recent updates regarding fusion development in Japan and the US. Daisuke Baba, Director of the Cabinet office and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), discussed the fusion energy innovation strategy, Japan’s first national strategy for fusion. Dr. Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences at the US Department of Energy discussed the US fusion energy ecosystem and the growth of the US-Japan fusion partnership. Atsushi Kojima, Group Leader at the Department of Advanced Plasma Research at QST spoke about recent technological advancements in Japan.
The first panel addressed the science and technology challenges start-ups are addressing to build commercial fusion machines. Dr. R. David Edelman from the FIA Board of Directors moderated a discussion between Koichi Masuda, Executive Relations Manager of EX-Fusion, Yosuke Kubo, COO of Helical Fusion, Dr. Hiroshi Gota, Vice President and Program Management and Science Fellow of TAE Technologies, and Ryan Umstattd, VP of Product & Partnerships of Zap Energy. The panel discussed the capabilities that have been unlocked through the US-Japan partnership and innovation opportunities.
Next, there was a panel on the development of the supply chain. Deputy General Manager of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Wataru Hirose; President/Chief Executive Officer & COO of SuperPower, Hirotsugu (Harry) Nagata; Director at Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Makoto Ebisui; and COO of Kyoto Fusioneering, Kiyoshi Seko spoke about the industry supply chain and the broader markets their companies are involved in, both in Japan and abroad.
The last session was a seminar by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, focusing on regulatory alignment, Japan-US fusion collaboration, and industry engagement. Several speakers from the Energy Section of Pillsbury spoke: Partner, Hon. Jeffrey Merrifield; Senior Counsel, Sheila Harvey; Special Counsel, Sidney Fowler; and Associate, Dr. Clarence Tolliver. The presentation addressed the new Trump administration’s approach to energy, executive branch priorities and orders, regulatory alignment between different actors, and investment opportunities.
Thank you to the Embassy of Japan and Japan Fusion Energy Council for their partnership in hosting this event and we look forward to further collaboration to bring fusion to commercialization.
