About us

Fusion Industrial Liaison Office (FILO)

Fusion Industry Liaison Office Germany

The Fusion Industry Liaison Office (FILO) serves as the interface between Fusion research and industry in Germany.

Our mission is to strengthen the participation of German companies in national, European, and international Fusion projects — from research infrastructures to future commercial power plants.

FILO supports companies across the entire supply chain by:

  • Providing information on procurement opportunities
  • Connecting companies with relevant technical experts
  • Supporting positioning in European Fusion programs
  • Strengthening networking within the Fusion ecosystem

We act as a bridge between:

  • Research institutions
  • Industrial suppliers
  • Startups and technology developers
  • National and European funding bodies
About us 11 FILO
About us 4 ILOs

Our Role

FILO focuses on enabling industrial participation in:

  • ITER and Fusion for Energy (F4E) procurement
  • IFMIF-DONES and Broader Approach procurement
  • Connecting people across the German Fusion Industry (Startups/Development Companies, RTO’s, Supply Chain)
  • European Fusion development programs
  • National Fusion initiatives
  • Future demonstration and commercial projects

We aim to:

  • Increase visibility of German industrial capabilities
  • Support supplier qualification processes
  • Encourage early engagement in emerging supply chains
  • Strengthen long-term industrial competitiveness

The People Behind FILO

About us 2 AB

Arnd Baurichter

Multiple decades of industrial and R&D experience in the major technology fields of Fusion.

Role: Supporting the German Fusion Industry from suppliers and manufacturers to startups, development companies and service providers.

Areas of Focus:

  • Building Bridges between:
    - Industry, Research & Politics
    - large scale Fusion research facilities (ITER-IO/F4E, IFMIF-DONES, Broader Approach)
    - Fusion startups & development companies (MCF, ICF)
    - Fusion research labs, and science organizations
    - Politics, Policy Makers
  • Reporting to Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space BMFTR:
    - Industry feedback, procurement trends & ITER return flows
    - Ad‑hoc policy input and support for public outreach & demonstrators
About us 2 CJ

Christine Jobert

French Office of the Fusion Industrial Liaison Office Germany and Director of a French-German Business Network in the South of France.

Role:

  • Event management
  • Expertise in French-German Business collaboration
  • Facilitator in international Business contacts
  • Intercultural  and organisational relations

Areas of focus:

  • Co-organisation of high-level business events like the biannual Forum FUSION Germany and
  • Monitoring industrial returns to Germany from the ITER project
  • Coordinating meetings among the European ILO network and other economic entities
  • Follow-up of requests coming from German companies and fostering economic cooperation

Network

European Industrial Liaison Network

FILO is part of the European network of Industrial Liaison Officers (ILOs) supporting industry engagement in Fusion programs. An overview of the ILO network is available via the Fusion for Energy industry portal:

https://industryportal.f4e.europa.eu/mainmenu/how-to-do-business/industrial-liaison-officers-ilos/

Within this network, ILOs maintain regular exchanges with procurement teams from major Fusion organizations including ITER, Fusion for Energy (F4E), IFMIF-DONES, and the Broader Approach program.

The ILOs serve as national contact points for their respective Fusion communities, maintaining close connections with industry, research institutions, startups, associations, and funding agencies. Through this network, companies receive support with procurement processes, market surveys, partner finding, and participation in international fusion events.

Collaboration with the CLIO-ILO Network

FILO has partnered up with the German CLIO-ILO network, which connects Industry Liaison Offices (ILOs) for major international research infrastructures (“Big Science”).

This network supports German industry in accessing procurement and collaboration opportunities at large-scale research organizations across Europe.
Further information on the CLIO-ILO network and other German Big Science ILOs can be found here:

https://pt.desy.de/industrie_und_wirtschaft/index_ger.html

Through this network, FILO contributes to a coordinated national approach to Big Science industry engagement.