(Head Office: Nagoya City; President: Toyohisa Yamada) has formed a partnership with OKB Capital Corporation (Head Office: Ogaki City; President: Tsuneichi Okada), a member of the Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank Group (President: Toshiyuki Sakai), a regional financial institution, and LEVANES Corporation (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Yukihiro Maru), which discovers and develops local venture businesses. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Group CEO: Yukihiro Maru), a company that discovers and fosters venture businesses originating from the local community, have jointly invested in Helical Fusion Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Takaya Taguchi), which is developing a helical magnetic field confinement fusion reactor, a technology that was originally developed in Japan.
Through this joint investment, the three companies will further strengthen their collaboration and support system toward the realization of "fusion power generation," which has never been put to practical use even after more than 60 years of human efforts, and aim to create a venture that will change the world from the Tokai region.

Helical Fusion releases arethis way (direction close to the speaker or towards the speaker)

For more than 100 years, Yamada Shokai Holding and its subsidiary Yamada Shokai Corporation have continued to support people's daily life infrastructure based on gas, water, and electric works. With the coming of rapid changes such as worsening natural disasters caused by global warming, aging infrastructure, aging and shrinking populations, the Yamada Shokai Group's mission is to enrich people's lives by enhancing the resilience of towns, countries, and the Earth. In particular, as sustainable energy production and utilization is an important issue that will have a significant impact on future living infrastructure and the global environment, we are focusing on R&D and business development through co-creation with deep-tech ventures and researchers. starting in 2023, RIVANES and Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank will co-sponsor the "Gifu Tech PlanterWe have been participating in the partnership of the "Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)" to discover and nurture the seeds of science and technology existing in universities and other research institutions in the Tokai region, together with various players in industry, government, academia, and money.

*About Gifu Tech Planter
This initiative is designed to encourage the social implementation of science and technology possessed by universities and other research institutions and start-up companies in the Tokai region, centering on Gifu Prefecture, and to foster new industries that will change the world from a medium- to long-term perspective.

Helical Fusion, which has co-funded the project, is part of the Gifu Tech Planter, which was held in November 2022.The 2nd Gifu Tech Plan Grand PrixThe company was selected as a finalist and received the Grand Prize and the Corporate Award from the The company is a spin-out start-up of the National Institute for Fusion Science, a national research institute, and is working to develop the only commercial fusion reactor in Japan that can be realized with existing technology, in order to commercialize the helical fusion reactor that has been researched and developed in Japan for about 70 years.

Fusion reactors are an innovative energy technology that artificially reproduces a sun-like energy source on the earth and uses the energy produced from it as a resource. With features such as the abundance of fuel for fusion reactions in seawater, no CO2 emissions, and high safety, expectations are high for fusion reactors as a fundamental solution to energy and environmental problems. In this context, Helical Fusion plans to realize fusion reactor power generation in the 2030s. Through a sustainable and stable energy supply, Helical Fusion aims to ensure Japan's energy security, eliminate energy-related conflicts, and promote human evolution, creating a future in which the earth and human beings will coexist in harmony for hundreds of years to come. Our goal is to create a future in which humans and the Earth can coexist in harmony for hundreds of years to come.

Yamada Shokai Holding, OKB, and Liverness decided to invest in Helical Fusion because they share Helical Fusion's vision, innovation in technology, and entrepreneurship to commercialize research accumulated over many years in Japan. We will continue to support the growth of Helical Fusion and contribute to the global community by discovering and fostering deep-tech ventures that will change the world from the Tokai region.

■Comments from companies

Akiya Taguchi, Co-Founder and CEO, Helical Fusion, Inc.
We are very encouraged to receive another investment from the Riverness Group, which has been a strong supporter of Helical Fusion since its inception. The Riverness Group has been deeply involved in the establishment and growth of many deep-tech companies and has a wealth of experience and knowledge. We look forward to working together to solve the world's problems as an indispensable partner for Helical Fusion in the future.

Toyohisa Yamada, President and Representative Director, Yamada Shokai Co. 
Yamada Shokai Holding has been contributing to the resilience of energy infrastructures such as gas and electricity through the power of engineering for 120 years since its establishment, and Helical Fusion aims to solve the problem of energy sources for mankind with fusion technology from Japan. We share their challenge to realize extreme conditions from near absolute zero to 100 million degrees Celsius for extended periods of time in an advanced vacuum environment, and have decided to invest in the company. We will continue to pursue our engineering capabilities.

Satoshi Tsuchiya, Director, Managing Executive Officer Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank, Ltd.
Helical Fusion's goal of realizing fusion technology provides an innovative solution to energy problems not only in our community but also globally. The decision was based on the potential for collaboration with a wide variety of local companies, including manufacturers in the Chubu area. The company will support business growth through the support network of OKB SCLAMB, an open innovation creation support center within Gifu University, to encourage the development of new technologies and the creation of new industries, thereby contributing to the revitalization of the regional economy as a whole.

Yukihiro Maru, Group CEO and Representative Director, Liverness, Inc.
Helical Fusion'sI have been supporting Mr. Taguchi's entrepreneurship and fusion technology since its inception because of its potential. I believe that the utilization and imitation of the sun is the last frontier for mankind in energy issues. The challenge of putting to practical use the knowledge and technology that Japanese researchers have accumulated over decades at enormous government expense is extremely important for Japan as a whole, and I feel the same aspiration as when I myself founded Euglena Co. Through co-creation with local businesses and financial institutions, we aim to realize a new industry originating from the region.

■About Helical Fusion, Inc. https://www.helicalfusion.com/ )
We promote research and development of helical fusion reactors to realize a sustainable energy supply. We are pursuing the commercialization of safe and efficient fusion energy using advanced simulation technology.

Company Name	Helical Fusion Inc.
representative	Representative Director & CEO: Kouya Taguchi / Representative Director & CTO: Junichi Miyazawa
Location	N&E BLD. 6F, 1-12-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Business	Development of commercial fusion reactors and related technologies
Date of Establishment	October 22, 2021

 

■About Yamada Shokai Holding Co. https://www.yamada-hd.co.jp/ )
Centered on Yamada Shokai Corporation, which has been in business for more than 100 years, this group of companies is engaged in gas, water, electricity, and other lifestyle infrastructure businesses. With the advent of rapid changes such as worsening natural disasters caused by global warming, aging infrastructure, aging and shrinking populations, we aim to enrich people's lives by enhancing the resilience of towns, countries, and the Earth.

Company Name	Yamada Shokai Holding Co.
representative	Toyohisa Yamada
Location	19-21, Sakurada-cho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Business	Formulate management policies and develop new businesses for the entire group
Date of establishment	September 16, 2016

 

About Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank Group (Japanese only) https://www.okb.co.jp/ )
OKB Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank has been working together with the community based on the basic philosophy of being "a bank that is loved, familiar, and trusted by the community. We will continue to provide one-to-one value-added services to each and every customer in a timely and appropriate manner, thereby revitalizing the community and becoming a corporate group that is needed by the community.

Company Name	Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank, Ltd.
representative	Toshiyuki Sakai
Location	3-98 Kaku-cho, Ogaki-shi, Gifu
Business	banking
Date of establishment	March 9, 1896.

 

■About Liverness, Inc. https://lne.st/ )
Based on the philosophy of "realizing the advancement of science and technology and contributing to the Earth," passionate researchers gather to promote projects that change the world by combining knowledge beyond the boundaries of their fields and industries.

Company Name	LIVERNESS Corporation
representative	Yukihiro Maru, Shuichiro Takahashi, and Jo Inoue
Location	Iidabashi Miyuki Building, 1-4 Shimomiyaibicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Business	Planning, research, and consulting services related to education, human resource development, research, and start-up in the field of science and technology.
Date of establishment	June 14, 2002

 

＜For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact
Innovation Promotion Department, Yamada Shokai Holding Corporation (Attn: Satoshi Asano)
Phone: 052-871-9811 Email: yamada-hd@ymax.co.jp