Macau
On June 29, 2026, Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Brazil’s Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), marking the start of a new cross-border collaboration in nuclear energy research and education. At the center of the partnership is Alpha-E, the world’s first desktop-scale miniature fusion research and teaching device, developed by Alpha Ring International through its clean-energy subsidiary Juzhai Clean Energy Co., Ltd., a portfolio company of WI Harper Group.
Under the agreement, MUST’s State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences will introduce the Alpha-E device to support joint research with IPEN, and the two institutions will jointly apply for research funding through Macau’s FDCT and Brazil’s FAPESP to carry out cross-border nuclear energy studies. The collaboration extends MUST’s frontier research corridor linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Portuguese-speaking countries, and supports China’s 15th Five-Year Plan strategy for fusion energy development.
The signing ceremony was held in hybrid format at MUST. Professor Xiaoping Zhang, Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, signed on behalf of MUST, while Professor Isolda Costa, representing IPEN, signed remotely from Brazil. Chair Professor Yong Chen, Vice President of MUST, witnessed the signing online, and Dr. Kwan Wong, Chairman of WI Harper (Macao) Investment Fund Management Limited, attended in person, together with colleagues from WI Harper Group, WI Harper (Macao), MUST, and Alpha Ring International, including Alpha Ring International Chief Operating Officer Fay Li.
Macau’s Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) has approved special funding to support the introduction of the Alpha-E device. Alpha Ring International will handle the system’s full lifecycle — research and development, manufacturing, on-site installation, commissioning, and long-term technical maintenance — while WI Harper (Macao), which received Macau’s first private equity fund license in July 2025, is coordinating cross-border resource matching and industry-university-research alignment between the partners.
This agreement builds on the industry-university-research partnership that MUST’s State Key Laboratory and WI Harper (Macao) established in March 2025, extending it into international frontier nuclear energy research. Because Alpha-E is designed for both teaching and research, the collaboration will allow MUST to build the first dedicated clean-energy talent training and technology outreach platform serving the Greater Bay Area and Portuguese-speaking countries — cultivating international talent and generating original research to support the long-term development of fusion energy.
Looking ahead, the partners will move forward with installation preparations for the Alpha-E system while submitting their joint FDCT-FAPESP research application, deepening the long-term collaboration and working toward high-impact results in nuclear energy and aerospace research, as well as pathways to commercialize the outcomes.
Source: https://www.must.edu.mo/id-13630/article/view/id-41680.html?locale=en_US
