FujiKura Invests in Starlight Engine Inc., Advancing the FAST Fusion Energy Project

FujiKura Ltd. (President and CEO: Naoki Okada) has announced an investment in Starlight Engine Inc. (hereinafter “Starlight Engine”), a company dedicated to advancing the FAST (Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) project—a privately led academic-industrial collaboration aiming to demonstrate power generation through fusion energy by the 2030s—and to achieving its broader societal implementation.

1. About Starlight Engine Inc.

Starlight Engine was established in April 2025 as a group company of Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd., a globally recognized fusion energy startup. The company oversees the entire FAST project and drives multifaceted initiatives including technological and business development, fundraising, site selection, and supply chain construction, all aimed at realizing commercial fusion power plants.

2. About Fusion Energy

Fusion energy is the energy released when light atomic nuclei (such as deuterium and tritium) fuse to form a heavier nucleus (helium), a process that occurs naturally in the sun. It is estimated that just one gram of fusion fuel can produce as much energy as burning eight tons of oil.

The fuel can be extracted from seawater, and the power generation process emits no carbon dioxide (CO₂). As such, fusion energy is gaining global attention as a solution to environmental issues such as climate change and is expected to play a pivotal role in achieving a carbon-neutral society.

3. Purpose of the Investment

FujiKura views the FAST project led by Starlight Engine as a critical initiative toward the societal implementation of fusion energy. The company’s high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire (Note 1) is used in high-temperature superconducting magnets, which are essential for confining and controlling the plasma required for fusion reactions.

Leveraging decades of expertise in HTS wire technology and its proven track record of supplying wires to fusion energy projects worldwide, FujiKura will contribute to advancing the FAST project through this investment.

Going forward, FujiKura will continue to pursue innovation aimed at reducing environmental impact and achieving sustainable energy supply, contributing to societal progress.

Starlight Engine Inc. Company Overview

Company Name

Starlight Engine Inc.

Headquarters

Tokyo Ryutsu Center Logistics Building A, AW1-S, 6-1 Heiwajima, Ota-ku, Tokyo

Date of Establishment

April 2025

Representative

President and CEO: Kiyotaka Kikuchi

Business Activities

Research, development, and sales of fusion energy power plants

Note 1: High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Wire

Superconductivity is a phenomenon in which electrical resistance becomes zero below a certain temperature.

There are two types: low-temperature superconductors (metal-based), cooled using liquid helium (boiling point: -269°C), and high-temperature superconductors (oxide-based), which exhibit superconductivity even at liquid nitrogen temperatures (boiling point: -196°C).

FujiKura has been developing HTS wire for over 30 years and is a global leader in this field.

The company’s HTS wire is a rare-earth-based coated conductor, fabricated by depositing an oxide superconducting material (containing rare earth elements) onto a tape-shaped metallic substrate (e.g., nickel-based alloy) with intermediate layers, allowing crystal growth. These wires maintain high performance even under extremely high magnetic fields and are expected to be widely adopted in next-generation superconducting devices.

FujiKura supplies its HTS wires to fusion energy development projects underway in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, and is expanding its production capacity to meet growing demand.