Helical Fusion Launches World-First Joint Research on “Fusion Ethics” with Fukuoka University

Exploring the philosophical and ethical foundations for humanity’s fusion-powered future

Helical Fusion Co., Ltd., the company developing the world’s first commercially viable fusion power plant through the Helix Program, has begun a groundbreaking joint research project with Fukuoka University to establish the world’s first academic framework for “Fusion Ethics.”

As fusion energy moves rapidly toward real-world deployment, its societal impact will reach far beyond engineering. This joint research aims to examine—through philosophical and ethical lenses—the future relationship between humanity and energy, as well as the broader implications of fusion energy for human civilization and the Earth.

This marks the world’s first full-scale attempt to explore fusion energy from a philosophical and ethical academic perspective.

Helical Fusion Co-Founder & CEO Takaya Taguchi (left) and Professor Seiyu Hayashi of the Faculty of Humanities at Fukuoka University, specializing in philosophy and ethics (right), at Fukuoka University.

Purpose of the Research

Fusion energy is a technology that recreates the sun on Earth. Because it does not rely on underground resources and can generate enormous energy from materials such as seawater, it has the potential to fundamentally change the way humanity has related to energy until now. Since the first International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy held in 1955, fusion research and development has accelerated across the world, and for about 70 years efforts toward commercialization have continued. Today, more than 50 companies worldwide aim to implement fusion energy in society.

While enormous knowledge has been accumulated in science and engineering over time, full-scale research from philosophical and ethical perspectives has not taken place.

However, there are many viewpoints that human society must examine as fusion moves toward social implementation. Beyond already-recognized issues such as siting and regulations for fusion power plants, all of these matters must be discussed together with the broader, higher-level question of “How should humanity relate to energy?”

Throughout history, whenever cutting-edge technologies have emerged—such as cloning, iPS cells, and AI—ethics has always been required.

This research aims to create a foundation for philosophical and ethical considerations regarding (1) the impact that the innovative technology of fusion may have on humanity and the Earth, and (2) how we, as humans, should relate to energy.　

Helical Fusion Co-Founder & CEO Takaya Taguchi (left) and Professor Seiyu Hayashi of the Faculty of Humanities at Fukuoka University, specializing in philosophy and ethics (right), at Fukuoka University.