日本語 
U.S. Department of Energy and Kyoto Fusioneering have announced a new strategic partnership focused on building the infrastructure needed for nuclear fusion and speeding up the move toward commercial fusion energy. The agreement brings public research institutions and private industry into the same frame, with the aim of tackling both technical hurdles and real deployment challenges that fusion still faces.
At the center of the partnership is a new public private collaboration between Kyoto Fusioneering and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge brings decades of fusion science and nuclear research experience. Kyoto Fusioneering contributes engineering, system design, and commercialization know how. Together, they plan to build advanced testing infrastructure that is needed for the next stage of fusion development. The collaboration also reflects a deeper level of cooperation between the United States and Japan, with a clear focus on moving fusion out of the lab and closer to real power generation.
A major technical focus is tritium blanket systems. These systems are essential because they produce the tritium fuel required to keep fusion reactions running. As part of the agreement, work will begin immediately to prepare for UNITY-3, a large scale tritium blanket test facility planned for construction at Oak Ridge. UNITY-3 is designed to test tritium blankets under neutron conditions and component shapes that closely resemble those expected in future commercial fusion plants. Interest from industry is already strong. Ten partners are involved, including seven major fusion development programs in the United States.
Also Read: Tokyo’s Bold Push to Lead Global Research and Innovation Through Science Tokyo
Beyond Oak Ridge, Kyoto Fusioneering will also work with Idaho National Laboratory and Savannah River National Laboratory. These efforts will use Kyoto Fusioneering’s existing UNITY-1 and UNITY-2 facilities in Japan and Canada. Research will focus on non nuclear aspects of fusion, such as blanket component testing, thermal cycling, and tritium fuel handling. This work supports the Department of Energy’s broader fusion nuclear science mission.
Together, the Department of Energy’s Tritium Blanket Development Platform and Kyoto Fusioneering’s UNITY program will follow a build, innovate, and grow approach. The idea is to close key gaps in the fusion roadmap by steadily increasing the maturity of tritium breeding and fuel cycle technologies through connected and increasingly realistic test environments.
The partnership sets out a new international public private investment model for fusion energy. It combines government backed research with commercially driven engineering and strengthens U.S. Japan cooperation. The long term goal is to help establish a globally competitive fusion industry.
English