The DNA of Entrepreneurial Mindset: Failures Never Stop Us from Testing, Researching, and Achieving Sufficient Results / Masaru Nakamichi, MiRESSO, Co., Ltd.

Written by the Universe Editorial Team

In “The DNA of Entrepreneurial Mindset,” we pick a startup entrepreneur who is currently in the limelight to find out their current values and mindset from various angles.

Featured in this article is Masaru Nakamichi, CEO of MiRESSO Co., Ltd. (MiRESSO), a company with a low-cost, energy-saving technology for refining beryllium that will be used for fusion energy.

Masaru Nakamichi
Masaru was a researcher of fusion reactor materials at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) after working at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), Cabinet Office (seconded), and Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). He founded MiRESSO to stably supply beryllium, a critical mineral to be used for fusion reactors but currently presenting price and production challenges, and contribute to bringing fusion energy to reality as soon as possible.

──What made you start a company?

I had been researching beryllium, a material essential for fusion energy, at research institutions over the years. This beryllium has been a bottleneck in commercializing fusion energy due to its costly refinement as well as its high price and insufficient production arising from an oligopoly market, etc.

Our low-temperature refinement technology enables us to refine beryllium at an overwhelmingly lower cost and with less energy, which results in reasonable pricing and stable production. I founded the company because I wanted to contribute to bringing fusion energy to reality as soon as possible through the development of the technology and also its practical application to society to disrupt the oligopoly market.

──How do you face failures and setbacks?

"I never give up, and I keep working until I get satisfactory results. I have always kept this in mind.

When I did not get expected results, I identified the causes, sorted out the conditions for improvement, and thoroughly repeated the experiments according to new parameters. In this way, I have dealt with failures by carrying out experiments and research until I achieved expected results.

──What are your non-negotiables?

To have interest in my work and do something that is truly meaningful. And above all, to enjoy whatever I am doing.

These are the things I strongly believe in. After all, you should enjoy your work in order to continue. At the research institutes I worked in the past and also at MiRESSO, I have always placed great importance on whether all of our members are enjoying their work every day.

──Can you explain your team in one word?

“Creativity”

Our entire team is working together to achieve practical application of an unprecedented technology to society, build new supply chains, and create a prosperous social life for everyone. Our business would not be possible without everyone’s creativity.

──How do you recharge yourself when you feel tired mentally and physically?

I spend time together with my family, having meals, having fun, and going on trips together.

I also recharge myself by riding my SR500 motorcycle, playing the trumpet, doing leatherworking (side bags, bags, cases, etc.), and drinking scotch and beer.

However, most of all, I enjoy spending time with my family who understands me and lets me enjoy my work and hobbies.

──What drives you forward?

My ambition to leave something tangible behind.

Although I developed a new technology in my research activities, I initially wanted to leave it up to someone else to apply my technology to society. I had not come up with the idea of running a business on my own.

However, as fusion energy has progressively moved into the engineering phase and become more realistic, I became more interested in contributing to fusion energy. My ambition to leave something tangible behind to contribute to bringing fusion energy to reality drove me to run my current business.

──What does it take to become a CEO?

Above all, it’s determination. Also, the ability to engage people.

The word determination here means to involve people who are willing to work together toward MiRESSO’s goals. Fortunately, MiRESSO has very positive and wonderful members, but I am fully aware that I still have a lot to do to boost my ability to attract people.

──Lastly, please share your aspirations.

It is to achieve practical application of fusion energy to society by using the beryllium we have produced.

As a small kid, I had this feeling that I wanted to do work that could leave something behind for future generations. If I can be involved in fusion energy by supplying the materials, my dream will come true and I can also play a part in the practical application of a next-generation carbon-neutral energy source to the energy sector, which emits a large amount of CO2. My dream now is to make great contributions to the future with what we have produced.

MiRESSO, Co., Ltd.

MiRESSO leverages its proprietary low-temperature refinement technology to focus on production and sales of beryllium as its core business, aiming to contribute to securing and supplying mineral sources (particularly beryllium) in a stable manner. Also, the company utilizes its highly versatile technology to provide a technology platform. Its platform business can lower the temperature and cost of various high-temperature production and processing processes in industrial and recycling sectors and cut CO2 emissions.