Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-ICAP No.1 Fund"), with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto iCAP") (Head office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Koji Murota) as general partner, has made an investment in Kyoto Fusioneering Co. ("KF") (Head office: Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture; Representative Director: Takashi Nagao), a venture company that utilizes the results of research at Kyoto University.

Outline of this investment
KF is an engineering company established by Professor Tetsuyuki Konishi of the Institute of Energy Science and Engineering, Kyoto University, for the development of technology related to nuclear fusion and the peaceful use of energy.
Fusion (*1) reactors, which generate clean and sustainable energy, are also called "the sun on earth," and world-leading research and development has been conducted in Japan as an alternative candidate for nuclear power generation. Currently, the construction of the "International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)" is underway in a seven-party international joint project in which Japan is also participating, with the aim of starting operation in 2025, and the extraction of energy from fusion reactors is becoming a reality. At the same time, several venture companies have already been established in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries with the aim of realizing power generation from fusion reactors at an earlier stage, and the development and construction of equipment for energy demonstration in the 2020s is also accelerating.

Kyoto University's Institute of Energy Science and Engineering has its roots in the Central Experimental Laboratory established in 1914 in the Faculty of Engineering of Kyoto Imperial University, and has conducted a series of research aimed at the practical application of fusion energy for peaceful purposes. Professor Tetsuyuki Konishi specializes in research on the conversion and utilization of fusion energy, the handling of triple hydrogen as fuel, the use of neutron sources, and thermal engineering, and has expertise in designing and manufacturing blankets and divertors (*2), the main components of a fusion reactor. KF will contribute to fundamental solutions to the world's energy and environmental problems by using these research results to become an engineering company that supplies major components such as blankets and divertors as well as plant designs for fusion reactor projects that are being constructed by university-related companies in Europe and the United States and by international collaborations. Fusion energy is a market that has the potential to grow significantly in the near future as a technology that can meet the exploding energy demand of developing countries, while meeting the Paris Agreement's demand for reduced greenhouse gas emissions without generating high-level radioactive waste. KF was established as a pioneer in this market.

KF is the fourth case in which a management team was created from members of the Entrepreneur Candidate Club (ECC-iCAP), an organization for entrepreneurs established and operated by Kyoto iCAP. ECC-iCAP members interested in the peaceful use of fusion reactors and researchers such as Prof. Konishi held discussions on commercialization, which led to the joint establishment of the company. As Japan's first start-up company related to fusion technology and an engineering company specializing in fusion technology, which is almost unprecedented in the world, the company will contribute to the sustainable development of society.

Kyoto iCAP, together with its founders, concluded an investment agreement with KF to underwrite the establishment investment and a third-party allocation of new shares, resulting in a total investment of 75.3 million yen. In addition to the investment, Kyoto iCAP will dispatch an outside director to provide general management support.

*1: What is nuclear fusion?
Excerpted from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology website;https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shinkou/iter/019.htm

(1) What is a fusion reaction?
The nuclear fusion reaction is the principle by which the sun generates luminous energy, and the nuclear fusion research that is being conducted by bringing together the world's science and technology can be likened to "creating the sun on earth" research. For example, one gram of deuterium-tritium fuel can produce energy equivalent to that of a tanker truck full of oil (about 8 tons).

(2) Characteristics of fusion energy
Abundant resources: Lithium, the raw material for producing deuterium and tritium hydrogen as fuel, is abundant in the ocean, so there is no regional maldistribution and no fear of resource depletion. A vast amount of energy can be extracted from a small amount of fuel.
Inherent safety: Fusion reactions do not runaway, and safety measures are relatively easy to implement compared to fission.
High environmental integrity: No carbon dioxide, a cause of global warming, is generated in the process of power generation. No high-level radioactive waste is generated.

2: Blanket and Diverters
Blanket: A device that extracts the heat generated by nuclear fusion out of the reactor to produce triple hydrogen as fuel.
Divertor: A device that removes helium gas produced by nuclear fusion from the reactor

Overview of Kyoto Fusion Engineering Co.

Establishment	October 2019
Business	Technology & equipment development for fusion reactors
Head Office Location	Uji City, Kyoto
President & CEO	Akira Nagao