In February of this year, KF embarked on an exciting new step as a global company by establishing Kyoto Fusioneering Europe GmbH (KFEU) in Karlsruhe, Germany.
So, you may be wondering, why Germany? And who are the talented team members leading the effort at our newest location?
To answer these questions, we spoke with two key people heavily involved in launching KFEU, Gordon (Takashi) Nishino and Natsuko Fukuda from our Business Planning and Financial Analytics Division. They’ve agreed to share some behind-the-scenes insights with us, so here’s a look at how this new chapter unfolded and what’s happening on the ground in Europe.
Why establish an office in continental Europe?
Gordon: Europe is a critical region for the fusion sector. Two key examples of this are the ITER Project based in France, and IFMIF in Spain. World leaders also highlighted the importance of fusion energy at this year’s G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers’ meeting held in Italy this past April. Europe is essentially at the forefront of shaping the future of fusion energy in terms of both policy and technology.
Why Germany specifically?
Natsuko: Germany is home to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), one of the world’s leading academic institutions in the field of fusion energy. In January of this year, we signed a partnership agreement with KIT and that prompted us to establish a base in Germany to further our technological development.
Gordon: Germany is also a manufacturing powerhouse, particularly in the automotive industry, and is known for its high standard of technology. Like Japan, Germany is a leader in sectors that require advanced engineering, including fusion energy. Building an international supply chain centered in Germany is a significant step toward industrializing fusion energy, our ultimate goal.
Compared to launching offices in the UK and the US, what particular challenges did you face in setting up KFEU?
Natsuko: To be honest, it was quite challenging, especially the language barrier. When we set up our offices in the UK and the US, everything could be completed in English. In Germany, much of the paperwork and procedures, from opening a bank account to filing legal documents and even answering questions over the phone, had to be done in German.
While we could draw from our experiences setting up the UK and US offices, we still needed to adapt our plans to fit a German environment given the differences in the law and business culture. With help from our German-speaking colleagues and external advisors, we took things step by step, but the overall process took much longer than we had anticipated.
Gordon: Based on our prior experience, we had a general idea of the tasks and timeline involved in setting up a new office, but, as Natsuko mentioned, the cultural and language differences posed significant challenges.
On top of that, we juggled this project alongside our regular work, so it was so important to manage everything efficiently. When establishing a company, you’re creating a place where people’s livelihoods are at stake. We made sure to prepare as much as possible to ensure that the new team could operate without any major hiccups, and we adjusted as needed.
Who has joined KFEU?
Natsuko: The KFEU members are primarily former researchers from KIT. Leading the team is Dr. Christian Day, who joined KF around the same time that KFEU was established. Christian serves as a Senior Vice President and Head of the Fuel Cycle Division, and he is Managing Director of the KFEU office.
He’s a renowned and highly respected industry expert who has been closely involved in R&D for the fuel cycle for DEMO, Europe’s demonstration fusion device. Several KIT graduates with expertise in fusion fuel cycle systems have also joined the team.
You both visited KFEU in person. What was your impression of KF’s newest location?
Natsuko: It felt very open and collaborative. The members had worked together at KIT, so they’ve developed a strong sense of trust among them. There’s a mentor-student relationship, but at the same time, they respect each other and work together well. Each member brings their own strengths and their own personality to the group, and that diversity seems to create a great balance in the team dynamic.
Gordon: It was very warm and inviting. When I visited the team, Christian himself made us coffee as a way of welcoming us to KFEU. He’s really passionate about coffee—the coffee machine was the first piece of equipment they set up in the office!
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Many thanks to Gordon and Natsuko for sharing with us all the hard work and the challenges involved in setting up KFEU. From opening bank accounts to developing new HR processes and hiring staff, they led the project and received invaluable support from multiple teams. While it was a challenging journey, they’ve both expressed how much they’ve grown through this experience.
We at KF continue to grow at an incredible pace, so we’ll be sharing more updates on how our technology is advancing and our organization is expanding. We’ve also uploaded a series of interviews, entitled “Behind the Fusion Scene”, that showcase our global team, so please check those out as well.
Lastly, we’d like to share a message from Dr. Christian Day expressing his hopes and aspirations for KFEU.
“The new subsidiary in Europe, KFEU, has already started to become a technology hub for the tritium fuel cycle, driving the transition towards commercialization and establishing the supply chain for the key components necessary to operate any fusion power plant.”
