Advances one of Japan’s leading public-private partnership initiatives for fusion commercialization with NIFS and industrial partners

Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takaya Taguchi; “Helical Fusion”), a Japanese fusion energy company advancing the Helix Program and developing the Helical Stellarator for commercial fusion power plants, announced the construction site for Phase 1 of Helix HARUKA, its Integrated Demonstration Device.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260316066384/en/

Concept image of Helix HARUKA, Helical Fusion’s integrated demonstration device

Phase 1—the magnet demonstration phase—will be built in a dedicated workspace for the joint research group formed by Helical Fusion and the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), located on the NIFS campus. Helical Fusion has already begun manufacturing phase and site build-out, with the aim of conducting coil current (energization) tests in 2027.

It also highlights Helical Fusion’s role in leading a “Japan-style public–private partnership (PPP)” for fusion commercialization. By bringing together NIFS’s world-class research foundation and infrastructure with Helical Fusion’s private-sector system integration and the manufacturing capabilities of industrial partners, the company is building a tightly coupled build-and-test loop.

In Phase 1, Helical Fusion will assemble a non-planar helical high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet and conduct current tests to validate the magnet’s performance as a system under expected operating conditions. In magnetic-confinement fusion, the magnet is a core technology that fundamentally shapes performance, reliability, and economics. As international competition intensifies, Helical Fusion is advancing a development model that connects research excellence with manufacturing execution and hardware integration.

Overview of Demonstration Phases within the Helix Program

1) Helix HARUKA — Phase 1 (Magnet Demonstration)

Purpose: Current-testing of a non-planar helical HTS magnet system.
Location: Dedicated space for the joint research group on the NIFS campus.

2) Helix HARUKA — Phase 2 (Integrated Demonstration)

Purpose: Integrated demonstration of key enabling technologies—including the HTS magnet and the blanket/divertor—together with a key milestone of the program: demonstrating sustained high-temperature plasma operation for durations sufficient to underpin an engineering outlook toward steady-state power-plant operation. This is intended to establish technical confidence for the first power-generating unit, Helix KANATA.
Note: No power generation will be conducted in Phase 2.
Location: Not disclosed.

3) Helix KANATA (First Power-Generating Unit)

Purpose: Achieve “practical power generation,” including net-electric operation, steady-state operation, and maintainability demonstrations.
Location: Not disclosed.

Background

Collaboration with NIFS

NIFS is a leading public research institution driving helical stellarator fusion research, operating the Large Helical Device (LHD), one of the world’s foremost large-scale plasma experimental facilities for the stellarator approach. Through LHD, NIFS has accumulated key operating know-how for long-duration operation, including sustaining plasma for 3,268 seconds (54 minutes 28 seconds), alongside advances in plasma stability control and management of heat and particle loads. NIFS is also recognized for deep expertise in fusion reactor engineering design

Helical Fusion was founded in 2021 as a spin-out leveraging research outcomes from NIFS. Since 2024, Helical Fusion and NIFS have operated under a formal joint research framework, collaborating on key technologies including HTS magnet systems and blanket/divertor systems. By locating Phase 1 at the dedicated joint workspace on the NIFS campus, Helical Fusion will more tightly connect research and hardware buildout—accelerating engineering integration.

This structure is emerging as a leading example of how Japan can commercialize fusion: a national research institution providing deep scientific and engineering knowledge, a startup driving speed and plant-level system integration, and industrial partners contributing manufacturing and execution capability. Helical Fusion believes this public–private model can become a distinctive strength of Japan’s fusion industry.

About Helical Fusion

Helical Fusion is pursuing the commercialization of fusion energy through the Helical Stellarator. Japan’s helical approach has been advanced through decades of R&D across national universities and public research institutions, and is regarded as well-suited to the requirements of commercial power generation. Building on that foundation, Helical Fusion is executing the Helix Program, which targets: (i) completion of standalone demonstrations of two major development elements—HTS magnets and the blanket/divertor—during the 2020s; and (ii) integrated demonstration via Helix HARUKA and the achievement of commercially viable power generation with Helix KANATA during the 2030s.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXTviHZe6w

Company Overview

Company Name: Helical Fusion Co., Ltd.
Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
CEO: Takaya Taguchi
Business: Design and development of the Helical Stellarator

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260316066384/en/

Advances one of Japan’s leading public-private partnership initiatives for fusion commercialization with NIFS and industrial partners