Japan to Build Fusion Tritium Fuel Research Base in Aomori Prefecture

Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has decided to establish a new fusion power generation research base in Aomori Prefecture, focusing on tritium fuel handling technology. The base will target the development needs of fusion demonstration projects in the 2030s, promoting joint research and development among industry, government, and academia. MEXT plans to include approximately 100 billion yen in fusion development-related funding in its budget request for the next fiscal year.

Fusion power generation releases energy through the fusion reaction of deuterium and tritium nuclei, a principle similar to the energy generation process inside the sun. Unlike traditional nuclear power that relies on nuclear fission chain reactions, fusion reactions carry a lower risk of runaway, leading many countries to view it as an important direction for future energy technology.

The engineering application of fusion power generation requires the stable circulation of large quantities of high-purity tritium within the reactor. To this end, MEXT plans to expand the Rokkasho Fusion Energy Institute, operated by the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, and construct a new "Fuel System Safety Test Facility."

The new facility will serve as a research and development platform, supporting joint experimental research by companies and universities. Related R&D content includes tritium safe storage equipment, technology for forming fuel such as tritium into pellets through freezing and supplying them into the device, and equipment for remote maintenance of internal reactor components.

Japan currently has multiple fusion research institutions undertaking R&D along different technical routes, including the QST Naka Fusion Institute, the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), and the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE) at Osaka University. MEXT also plans to enhance the research facilities of these institutions to strengthen industry-academia-government collaboration. Among them, the National Institute for Fusion Science is upgrading the performance of supercomputers used to predict internal reactor conditions.

The Japanese government has designated fusion as a priority investment area in its growth strategy. MEXT officials have stated that they will accelerate R&D on common technologies required for the practical application phase of fusion.