Kyoto Fusioneering Europe GmbH

Fusion power plants have the ability to solve the world’s energy problems. Japanese company Kyoto Fusioneering is developing the technology needed for this purpose in Karlsruhe.

 

If Christian Day had not spent long periods of his professional career to date at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), it’s unlikely that he would have become the leading employer of the European subsidiary of Kyoto Fusioneering that he is today. The Japanese company develops components for future fusion power plants and operates in precisely the same area in which Day has been working for decades as a scientist. “The Japanese firm has very consciously chosen to locate its German base close to KIT”, says Day, who studied chemical and process engineering and completed his doctorate at the renowned third-level institution back in the 1990s and is an expert in this innovative discipline. 

Fusion technology can make a decisive contribution to global energy supply and ensure that electricity networks have a climate-neutral base load. This is something that solar and wind energy can only provide when the weather is right. The race for the technology of the future is long since under way. The German government has an action plan to make Germany the location for the world’s first fusion power plant. 

 

Negligible radiation risk

In fusion power plants, the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium are melted at a temperature of several million degrees and under high pressure. This creates a plasma that is as hot as the sun and is often described as the fourth state of matter alongside solid, liquid and gas. 

The heat generated in the fusion power plant drives turbines and generators. The decisive advantage compared with traditional nuclear power is that tritium as a fuel only releases small quantities of radioactivity. “Even just one sheet of paper would protect against the radiation”, explains Day. According to the researcher, uncontrolled reactions like in Chernobyl or Fukushima are impossible using fusion technology. “The process stops immediately in the event of any disruption.”

However, the heat created in the fusion power plant means that the process must meet exacting standards. Kyoto Fusioneering is in the business of developing the processes and components needed for this. “We focus on three areas that will be central to the construction of any fusion power plant”, says Day. 

Firstly, the company develops fuel cycle systems that circulate, recover, separate and process tritium. Secondly, Kyoto Fusioneering offers what are referred to as blanket systems. This term refers to the first layer of the plasma chamber. The system recovers heat and makes it possible to use turbines to utilise the energy contained in the system. 

 

Super microwaves for plasma production

The third component involves plasma heating systems. Kyoto Fusioneering develops high-performance microwaves for this purpose. They work in the same way as the microwaves we use in our kitchens, with one key difference: they are roughly 1,000 times more powerful. After all, temperatures of 10 million degrees are needed to produce the plasma. “We have to add that energy first”, explains Day. But once the temperature has been reached, the plasma state remains stable. Over time, the company aims to use the three systems to become an integral part of a new value added chain for fusion technology.

Day has been working in the field of fusion technology for decades. He would repeatedly engage with the scientific community for his research area at international conferences, and this is where he met one of the founders of Kyoto Fusioneering. The founder, based in Japan, asked Day if he wanted to get involved in establishing a European location. In May 2024, Day accepted the offer to become Head of Kyoto Fusioneering Europe and convinced two of his PhD students to join him. The company was founded in Tokyo in 2019 and currently employs 160 people. 

 

Karlsruhe as the ideal location

Day isn’t concerned about recruiting enough new staff. “Being close to the KIT in Karlsruhe is a clear advantage”. The chemical and process engineering study programme attracts a lot of students to this city in Baden who are also interested in fusion technology. It is rare to find this subject taught at German universities. Internships or topics for master’s study programmes are a means of establishing links to future employees at an early stage – also as the KIT and Kyoto Fusioneering have entered a strategic partnership for fusion technology. Eight people are currently employed by the company, but this figure is set to double in the near future.