Chancellor’s Japan Trip: Nuclear Fusion Brings Germany and Japan Closer

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Chancellor’s Japan Trip: Nuclear Fusion Brings Germany and Japan Closer.

The destination at the end of the Japan trip was a plant operated by fusion supplier Kyoto Fusioneering in Kyoto. There, Merz forged a partnership at the center of the chancellor’s trip that goes far beyond a polite meeting of intent: three Japanese companies concluded agreements with Siemens Energy and the nuclear fusion start-ups Focused Energy and Proxima Fusion.

The agreements aim to transfer research from Germany into commercial power plants. This includes stellarator technology, which was developed at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. Japanese partners are bringing their engineering expertise into Germany’s fusion ecosystem, particularly its national fusion hubs.

Why Merz Is Betting on Japan for Fusion and Defense

Three agreements

The agreements turn the Japan trip into a tangible economic story. The projects combine stellarator technology from German research with the industrial experience of Japanese companies. At the same time, Merz is pursuing a broader geopolitical line: He sees Japan not only as a close partner for free trade, but also as a partner in the defense industry.

Both governments and companies also want to strengthen competitiveness and economic security together. New markets are to be opened jointly, technologically as well as in third countries.

Merz summarized the view of German business representatives on Wednesday: “If we combine these strengths, new opportunities emerge that no company alone could exploit in the same way.” In doing so, he justifies the cooperation not only by referring to technical gaps, but also to complementary strengths across different industries.

Gyrotrons for Plasma at 100 Million Degrees

The next generation of gyrotrons

German partners want to develop the next generation of gyrotrons with Kyoto Fusioneering. These high-power tubes heat the plasma in reactors to 100 million degrees Celsius. Alongside these tubes, technology for the fuel cycle is also in focus.

This shows how concrete the division of labor between the two countries could look. Japanese engineering expertise meets the development of German fusion facilities. The agreements are intended not merely to juxtapose these capabilities, but to connect research and industrial implementation in the direction of commercial power plants.

Nuclear fusion is considered a technology of the future because it could generate electricity in large quantities without CO₂ emissions and without long-lived radioactive waste. Whoever brings the technology to market maturity first also secures industrial value creation.

Proxima Fusion Plans Large-Scale Production in Lower Saxony

HTS tape and Europe’s share of the supply chain

Proxima Fusion is going one step further. Together with cable manufacturer Fujikura, the start-up is examining the establishment of large-scale production of high-temperature superconductor tape, or HTS tape for short, in Lower Saxony. Fujikura is regarded as a technology leader for this product.

Proxima CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino explains why production is to be relocated to Germany: “Bringing production to Germany is a genuine key factor for fusion.” HTS tape conducts electricity without electrical resistance and thus makes it possible to control the extremely hot plasma in which the fusion reaction takes place.

The difference from copper cables is substantial. According to Sciortino, with copper, a cable would be needed that could probably just about be embraced with both arms. Because of its electrical resistance, it would also become very hot. With HTS tape, by contrast, a cable just about one centimeter in diameter is sufficient.

For the Stellaris power plant concept, which Proxima envisages for the 2030s, 40,000 kilometers of this tape are required. Producing this quantity in Germany would be a major competitive advantage for Germany’s fusion sector.

Proxima had already secured substantial financing: Its latest funding round raised €411 million in July. Energy company RWE and Google came on board as strategic partners. Google is looking for electricity for its AI data centers.

With local HTS production, Europe’s share of Proxima’s supply chain would rise from 80 to 90 percent, Sciortino said. The HTS tape is not intended exclusively for fusion; it can also be used in other technologies such as wind turbines.

Europe Sees Six Chinese Competitors Operating in the Shadows

The race for technological leadership

Investments in fusion are running into the billions worldwide because governments, investment funds and corporations are betting on a market in which the first systems to reach market maturity could secure industrial value creation. In China alone, Proxima counts six competitors that operate largely in the shadows. US companies are also joining the field.

By contrast, the company sees Europe, and especially Germany, as the leader technologically. Proxima concluded two agreements in quick succession. Overall, the companies traveling with the chancellor signed around two dozen letters of intent. This number makes the chancellor’s trip more than a symbolic gesture: It shows how many players are simultaneously betting on closer ties between the two countries.

Japanese Companies Are Opening Up Their Supply Chains

European production as a key factor

The strategic dimension depends crucially on the partnerships beginning not only with fusion, but also with procurement and securing supply chains. Mizuho analyst Asuka Tatebayashi has observed a markedly higher interest among Japanese companies in Europe since the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term.

As Europeans, German companies had long found it harder than others because Japanese companies frequently viewed them as rivals. Tatebayashi now sees a change: “Companies are now more open to cooperating with German companies, particularly in procurement and securing supply chains.”

The agreements provide concrete examples of what this opening can mean in practice. Proxima is examining industrial production in Lower Saxony. That is why Proxima CEO Sciortino calls Germany a genuine key factor for fusion.

You can find the detailed context and the Handelsblatt’s assessment in this report.