Helical Fusion, Aiming for Practical Application of Next-Generation Energy through Nuclear Fusion, Selected for Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Innovation Promotion Project for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo"

Helical Fusion Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Koya Taguchi; hereinafter "Helical Fusion"), which aims to realize next-generation clean energy through fusion energy, announces that it has been selected for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Innovation Promotion Project for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo" (Zero Emission category) for fiscal year 2026. This project provides subsidies for a portion of the expenses required for the development, improvement, demonstration experiments, and market development of products and services commercialized by venture and small and medium-sized enterprises in Tokyo through open innovation with operating companies, with a maximum subsidy of 1 billion yen over three years.

The adopted theme is "New Liquid Metal Wall to Extend the Life of Fusion Power Plants," which involves the development of a core component called a "blanket" that receives energy generated from nuclear fusion reactions as heat usable for power generation. To achieve both the efficiency and longevity of the entire power plant for the practical application of fusion energy, which is expected to be a next-generation power source that emits no CO2, an innovative design utilizing liquid metal as a blanket material will be materialized.

■What is Fusion Energy?

Energy obtained by reproducing the same principle as the sun's glow on Earth. It is expected to be a technology that fundamentally solves global energy problems because it emits no carbon dioxide (CO2), uses hydrogen-like fuels that can be abundantly collected from seawater, and is easy to ensure safety as runaway reactions are fundamentally impossible.

■About the Blanket

Inside a fusion power plant, the "blanket," which is in contact with the plasma and receives energy, is subjected to extremely high heat loads. To operate a power plant stably for a long period, a mechanism is needed to efficiently and continuously extract this heat while minimizing its impact on surrounding components. However, a standard method has not yet been established globally.

The newly adopted "New Liquid Metal Wall to Extend the Life of Fusion Power Plants" addresses this challenge with an innovative approach: a "moving wall" through which liquid metal flows. Compared to blankets primarily composed of solid materials, as conceived in existing test devices, this aims to realize a superior component in terms of efficiency, maintainability, and ensuring plant longevity. Furthermore, by demonstrating maintenance methods including peripheral equipment for the blanket, the project will ensure the overall operating rate of the plant and promote development with an eye on the economic viability of a practical plant.

■Promoting Demonstration through Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration from Tokyo

This theme will promote demonstration by bringing together advanced material technology, mechanical technology, and thermal control technology in collaboration with domestic manufacturing companies and universities. This includes joint development with multiple domestic companies, such as Hishiki Kanagata Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture)*1, which has announced its collaboration in blanket development, and Sukegawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture)*2, which is already a cooperative partner, as well as initiatives under a joint research system with academic institutions such as Aoyama Gakuin University*3. By leveraging the strengths of Japan's advanced manufacturing technology and research infrastructure and maximizing the support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, concrete development for the practical application of fusion power plants will be possible.

Helical Fusion believes that the social implementation of fusion energy cannot be completed by a single company alone, but can only be accelerated through collaboration among companies, research institutions, and government agencies with diverse expertise, and therefore places importance on partnering. Taking this adoption as an opportunity, the company aims to create new industries from Tokyo and, in the future, foster fusion energy to become one of the core power sources alongside renewable energy.

*1 Press Release: "Helical Fusion, Advancing Practical Application of Fusion Energy, Collaborates with Hishiki Kanagata Kogyo, a Large Metal Precision Processing Company, Completes Important Components for Final Demonstration Device 'Helix HARUKA'" https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000060.000089262.html

*2 Press Release: "Helical Fusion, Aiming for the World's First Steady-State Fusion Reactor, Delivers 'GALOP,' a Unique Liquid Metal Blanket Test Device Essential for Commercial Fusion Reactors" https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000026.000089262.html

*3 Helical Fusion Website "PARTNER" https://www.helicalfusion.com/partner

■About the Innovation Promotion Project for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo

For details regarding the adoption of this project, please refer to the announcement from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

• Support for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo: Adopted Companies Decided | March | Tokyo Metropolitan Government Official Website

  https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/information/press/2026/03/2026033021

• Innovation Promotion Project for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo Website

  https://www.zeroemiinnovation.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/

■Comment from the Representative

Koya Taguchi, Representative Director & CEO, Helical Fusion Inc.

We are deeply honored to have been selected for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Innovation Promotion Project for Realizing Zero Emission Tokyo." I am proud of the efforts of the team that has been working on the consideration and application preparation for this theme, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all our joint research partners and the companies that have cooperated with us on both technical and business fronts. The blanket development adopted this time is a crucial component in power plants for receiving energy and utilizing it as electricity. With this adoption as a significant boost, we will bring together Japan's excellent research and development capabilities and manufacturing prowess to further accelerate our progress toward the practical application of fusion energy.

■About the Helix Program

Helical fusion reactors are a method whose characteristics have been evaluated as suitable for commercial power plants as a result of 70 years of research and development at national universities and national research institutions.*4

Helical Fusion is one of the few private companies that utilizes this knowledge to realize fusion energy, and is promoting the "Helix Program" to achieve practical power generation with helical fusion reactors.

The Helix Program plans to complete individual demonstrations of the two major development elements, "high-temperature superconducting magnets" and "blanket/divertor," by the mid-2020s, and achieve integrated demonstration with the final demonstration device "Helix HARUKA" and the world's first practical power generation with the first power generation unit "Helix KANATA" by the mid-2030s.

Manufacturing and construction of "Helix HARUKA" has been underway since 2025. Helical Fusion, based on the knowledge of a specialized team led by CTO (Junichi Miyazawa), leads development as an integrator and steadily advances engineering with a strong collaborative system with manufacturing companies across Japan.

*4 This is because it has the prospect of satisfying all three requirements for commercial fusion reactors: ① steady-state operation (stability for 24/7 operation), ② net power generation (ability to supply electricity outside the plant), and ③ maintainability (ability to perform maintenance).

■Three Requirements for "Practical Power Generation"

To commercially use a fusion reactor as a power plant, it is necessary not only to cause a fusion reaction but also to satisfy all three requirements for commercial fusion reactors: ① steady-state operation (stability for 24/7 operation), ② net power generation (ability to supply electricity outside the plant), and ③ maintainability (ability to perform maintenance).

■About Helical Fusion

Founded in 2021, utilizing the research results on nuclear fusion at NIFS, Helical Fusion is a company aiming for the practical application of fusion energy through helical fusion reactors. The "helical method," a unique Japanese fusion reactor type, has been evaluated as suitable for commercial power plants as a result of 70 years of research and development at national universities and national research institutions.

As the world's only company promoting practical application utilizing this knowledge, it is advancing the "Helix Program." The Helix Program plans to complete individual demonstrations of the two major development elements, "high-temperature superconducting magnets" and "blanket/divertor," by the mid-2020s, and achieve integrated demonstration with the final demonstration device "Helix HARUKA" and the world's first practical power generation with the first power generation unit "Helix KANATA" by the mid-2030s.

Helix Program Details (https://www.helicalfusion.com/helixprogram)

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Background

■Significance of Fusion Energy Development

The world's population is projected to increase by approximately 1.7 billion by 2050*5, and it is difficult for existing power generation methods alone to meet the rapidly increasing global electricity demand, also driven by the spread of generative AI. Fusion energy is expected to be a technology that fundamentally solves global problems because it is a highly efficient power generation method that uses the same principle as the sun's glow, emits no CO2, and uses abundantly available fuel from seawater. Estimates*6 suggest that the nuclear fusion plant construction and electricity market will grow to several hundred trillion yen globally by 2050, indicating the potential for Japan to create a huge industry that leads the world, similar to the automotive industry, while international development competition is also intensifying.

In Japan, a new administration led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was inaugurated in October 2025, positioning "crisis management investment" and "economic security" as the core of its growth strategy. In her policy speech, "early social implementation of next-generation innovative reactors and nuclear fusion energy" was clearly stated. In June of the same year, the Cabinet Office's revision of the "Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy" presented a roadmap aiming for power generation demonstration in the 2030s. In addition, fusion energy was listed as one of the "17 priority investment areas" advocated by the new administration, and in November, the government allocated a budget of over 100 billion yen, and the "Fusion Energy Office" was established within the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, concretizing government support. Recommendations for social implementation have also been presented by the Fusion Energy Industrial Council, which brings together the industry, indicating that the movement towards industrialization, involving both public and private sectors, is accelerating from the stage of academic research.

*5 International Energy Agency (IEA) Annual Report "World Energy Outlook 2023"

*6 FusionX/Helixos report Global Fusion Market Analysis: Electricity, Supply Chain & Construction (https://fusionxinvest.com/data-analysis/analysis/)

＜Contact regarding this matter＞

Helical Fusion Inc. Communication Design Office contact@helicalfusion.com