Key information
Startup Licube is positioning itself as a critical fuel provider for the emerging fusion power industry. By licensing technology from Hirosaki University in Japan, the company aims to purify lithium-6, a specific isotope essential for breeding tritium fuel within fusion reactors.
The process utilizes an electrolyzer device featuring a ceramic membrane. Lithium is dissolved in liquid, and as electrical current is applied, lithium-6 moves across the membrane faster than the heavier lithium-7. Licube intends to enrich lithium to at least 99.995% purity for use in fuel breeding systems.
CEO Yohei Kiguchi noted that while fusion could represent a $50 billion market by 2040, the industry faces delays. Consequently, Licube plans to apply its purification technology to other sectors, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, fission reactors, and spacecraft, until fusion power reaches commercial viability.
Licube is currently participating in the Startup Battlefield competition at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. The company was founded by Kiguchi, who previously led the Japanese energy-switching platform Enechange, following his visit to the ITER experimental reactor in France.
