OUR TEAM

Prof. Satoshi Konishi co-founded Kyoto Fusioneering in 2019. With a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo, he brings four decades of expertise in R&D, specializing in fusion technology, advanced nuclear system design, and tritium engineering, including significant contributions to the ITER project. He holds dual roles as Chief Fusioneer, overseeing technology development, strategic planning, and execution, and as CEO, a position he has held since 2023.

Mr. Kiyoshi Seko joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2021 as an Executive Officer. Prior to joining KF, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation for almost 10 years, where he was involved in business development and strategic investments, including for the establishment of overseas JVs and cross-border M&As. After obtaining his MBA, he worked for Coral Capital, a leading VC firm in Japan, where he made several investments – including one in Kyoto Fusioneering before joining the company – mainly in the deeptech area. Kiyoshi has an M.S. in Applied Physics from University of Tokyo, as well as an MBA from IE Business School, Spain.

Mr. Takashi Imai joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2021. He is responsible for finance, corporate governance, human resources, corporate planning, IT, etc. Prior to joining KF, he spent about 10 years as Representative Director and CEO of Ace Insurance Japan (now Chubb Insurance Japan).
After graduating from university, he worked as an engineer at Mitsubishi Research Institute, where he was engaged in engineering simulations, including those related to nuclear power. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokyo, a Master of Science degree from Yale University, and an MBA (financial engineering) from Hitotsubashi University. He is a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (Delaware).

Prof. Keishi Sakamoto joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2021. He has been engaged in R&D for plasma heating technology for several decades, most recently at the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology in Japan. In particular, he has been extensively involved in the development of gyrotrons, high-power millimeter-wave generators based on the theory of relativity. As a result, Keishi was the first in the world to simultaneously achieve an output energy of 1 MW and an energy conversion efficiency of more than 50%, with continuous output. For his work, he has received awards from MEXT in Japan and the European Physical Society Plasma Division (Innovation Prize). He is now a Specially Appointed Professor at Institute of Advanced Energy, and has a Ph.D. in Science from Kyushu University.

Since joining Kyoto Fusioneering in October 2023, Mr. Yuhei Nozoe has led strategic planning and critical negotiations across key markets, including Japan, North America, and Europe, driving business growth. He oversees business development related to technologies such as plasma heating, fusion blanket and thermal cycles as well as tritium fuel cycles. He also plays a central role in establishing Fusion Fuel Cycles Inc., a joint venture with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, where he serves as Co-CEO. He possesses deep expertise in intellectual property strategy, supply chain strategy, and business development, contributing to strengthening the global competitiveness of both entities. Previously, at a major Japanese trading company, he served as Chief Manager in the industrial DX promotion division, leading digital transformation initiatives in the manufacturing sector. He was also engaged in a wide range of business activities, including business development and trading operations in the chemicals sector across Japan, the U.S., and the Middle East. He holds an MBA.

Mr. Kenichi Hayashi joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2022. He has been in charge of designing, manufacturing and testing the gyrotron system that KF has received. Prior to joining KF, he worked for CANON ELECTRON TUBES & DEVICES for 21 years. He was involved in research and development of high-power electron tubes such as klystrons and gyrotrons for accelerator facilities and fusion research facilities around the world. He eventually became the manager of the electron tube engineering department and the electron tube business division. He has an M.S. in Electronic Engineering from Osaka University.

Mr. Yoshifumi Kume joined Kyoto Fusioneering in March 2022. As Co-Head of Plant Technology, he leads the development of fusion fuel cycle and fusion thermal cycle technologies. He is involved in plant design projects for clients worldwide, leading the power generation test plant “UNITY-1” and the “UNITY-2” project in collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), which conducts demonstration tests of the fusion fuel cycle using tritium in a real-world setting. Additionally, he promotes the development of components and technologies required for plant operations alongside reactor design.
Before joining KF, he worked at Mitsubishi Chemical, where he was involved in heat balance and production management, equipment modification, and procurement. In his previous role at Mitsubishi Corporation, he managed financial derivatives and oil trading in Singapore and investments in low-carbon businesses in London.

Dr. Christian Day joined Kyoto Fusioneering in May 2024. He has spent decades in R&D for fusion fuel cycle technologies like vacuum pumping, tritium processing, and particle exhaust, most recently at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. In particular, he led the systematic development of cryopumps for ITER through all technology readiness levels and pioneered the concept of “Direct Internal Recycling” to reduce tritium inventories, for which he received the first SOFT Innovation Prize in 2014. Christian contributed to more than 170 publications in refereed journals and had 50 invited talks globally at conferences. Before joining KF, he held the teaching position of Vacuum Science and Technology at KIT since 2009. He holds a Ph.D. in Technical Thermodynamics from KIT.

Dr. Colin Baus joined Kyoto Fusioneering in August 2021. He is a physicist who graduated from KIT, Germany. His Ph.D. was on heavy-ion cross sections and the link to astroparticle physics at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (CMS experiment). As co-author of the hadronic interaction tool CRMC, he has deep knowledge in nuclear physics. After several years in the private industry in C-level roles, Colin joined Kyoto Fusioneering. He is leading the research for high-temperature breeding blankets and the UNITY programme for fusion thermal cycle and fusion fuel cycle in Japan and Canada.

Mr. Bibake Uppal joined Kyoto Fusioneering in January 2023. He leads KF America, the Seattle-based U.S. subsidiary. He oversees strategic partnerships, business development, investor relations, and public outreach across North America. Under his leadership, KF continues to enter novel partnerships, grow US-based sales, obtain cooperative-research grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, and raise equity capital from U.S. investors.
Before KF, Bibake led multinational teams advising large-cap clients in Energy, Resources & Industrials and Food & Agriculture on M&A strategy and post-merger integration at Deloitte Consulting, and served as a corporate-communications strategist for a Canadian Crown corporation. Prior to that, he was an NCAA and CFL athlete, and a forest firefighter.
He holds an MBA and M.S. in Business Analytics from IE Business School and a B.A. in Communications from Simon Fraser University.

Mr. Takuma Uenodan joined Kyoto Fusioneering in September 2022. Since joining Kyoto Fusioneering, he has performed key functions in finance, governance, HR, and in establishing KF’s global offices. He has played a leading role in securing funding, building governance frameworks (including for global offices), overseeing corporate legal affairs, developing global stock options, and establishing KF’s US operations.
As a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and an Actuary (IAJ Fellow), Takuma Uenodan took on a range of tasks in his previous role at KPMG (Tokyo and London offices). These included audits of global financial institutions (listed in Japan, UK, and the US), IFRS implementation, internal control development, risk management enhancement, KPI development, organizational restructuring, and the valuation of investment projects.

Joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2025. As Head of Human Resources, oversees all HR functions across the Japan entity and its overseas subsidiaries.
Previously held a series of HR leadership roles at a major automotive manufacturer and a global apparel manufacturing and retail company, gaining broad experience across HR system design, implementation, and operations; labor and employment management; global mobility; the establishment of global HR operations; and labor-management relations.
In the previous role, worked at a global consulting firm, serving as a Project Manager on large-scale initiatives for major Japanese corporations with workforces exceeding 20,000 employees. Led projects focused on global HR operations integration, business process transformation, and the implementation of global HR systems, driving solutions to complex HR challenges.
Possesses deep knowledge of employment practices and HR operations not only in Japan but also internationally, and is committed to building robust HR foundations that support the growth of Japan‑based global enterprises.

Ms. Yuriko Tsuburaya joined Kyoto Fusioneering in February 2025, where she serves as Head of Corporate Planning.
Previously, at a major Japanese manufacturer, she worked as a plant engineer, managing the full project lifecycle from pre-order process design through commissioning and customer handover. She then led a company-wide business process reengineering (BPR) and organisational development initiative as part of a corporate restructuring effort, collaborating with approximately 6,000 stakeholders across the organisation, including senior executives.
At a manufacturing technology startup, she served as Head of Operations during a period of rapid growth, scaling her team by more than five times within a year while building the company-wide service operations from the ground up.
She holds a Master’s degree in International Development Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Joined Kyoto Fusioneering in 2025 as Public Affairs Manager. Previously spent 12 years at A.P. Moller-Maersk, where he managed trade lane revenues and led business development before serving as Chief of Staff to the North Asia Area Head. He then spearheaded a company-wide organizational transformation assisting the Asia Pacific Regional Head, driving the design and implementation of organizational structures and operating systems across the region (approx. 8,000 employees). As Maersk Group’s Head of Public Affairs and Regulatory Affairs for Japan, he supported executives including the Chairman and Group CEO, led regulatory engagement and policy advocacy on environmental and energy transition priorities, and oversaw communications and CSR initiatives. As a pro bono commitment, he contributes to the Gojo Foundation, supporting research and initiatives addressing extreme poverty.

Prof. Shutaro Takeda co-founded Kyoto Fusioneering in 2019. He is responsible for international relations and technological strategic planning. He became the youngest-ever appointed associate professor at Kyoto University Graduate School at the age of 31, and currently serves as Director of Fusion Industry Research Center at Keio Media Design (KMD) Research Institute. He has received many prizes, including NIG Early Career Award 2021 from the Institute of Physics and the Director General’s Recognition Award. He formerly worked at the IAEA, and was the first Japanese citizen to work for the UN as an Associate Officer in the fusion division. He has also served as a member of IAEA International Program Advisory Committee Member for Fusion Enterprises Workshop, and as an Expert to the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee: Japanese MEXT. Shutaro has a Ph.D. in Energy Science from Kyoto University, and M.S. in Sustainability from Harvard University.