Renewal Fuels, Inc., operating under the American Fusion brand, has appointed Dr. John E. Brandenburg as Chief Technology Officer of its subsidiary Kepler Fusion Technologies. Dr. Brandenburg, a plasma physicist with more than 40 years of experience, will oversee technology strategy and commercialization efforts for the company's Texatron™ aneutronic fusion platform. This appointment signals a significant step in the company's push to develop a commercially viable fusion energy source.
Dr. Brandenburg's career includes senior scientific roles at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, The Aerospace Corporation, the Florida Space Institute at Kennedy Space Center, and Orbital Technologies Corporation. He has held U.S. government security clearances at Top Secret, Secret, Q, and SITK levels for national research programs supporting defense and energy initiatives. His doctoral research at the University of California, Davis focused on field-reversed plasma layers created by mono-energetic ions.
At Lawrence Livermore, Dr. Brandenburg conducted research on magnetically confined thermonuclear fusion and performed LASNEX modeling on inertial confinement fusion pellet designs. His work at Sandia National Laboratories involved relativistic electron beam physics and plasma interactions for defense applications. As Principal Scientist at The Aerospace Corporation, he directed the CMTX compact fusion propulsion experiment and supported national security programs, receiving a formal Letter of Commendation for technical contributions to the Cobra Judy Replacement Project.
Since February 2019, Dr. Brandenburg has served as lead scientist and technology architect at Kepler Aerospace Ltd. and Kepler Fusion Technologies, playing a central role in developing the Texatron™ compact toroidal fusion concept. Under his leadership, the company has advanced theoretical research, proof-of-principle plasma confinement validation, and fusion-based clean energy systems development. He is the inventor or co-inventor on multiple issued U.S. patents covering plasma reactors, propulsion systems, hydrogen and ammonia processing, and persistent ionization plasma generation.
"Dr. Brandenburg is one of the most accomplished plasma physicists working in fusion energy today," said Brent Nelson, CEO of Kepler Fusion Technologies. "His decades of experience at premier national laboratories and his hands-on leadership in developing the Texatron™ platform make him uniquely qualified to guide our technology toward commercial deployment." Richard Hawkins, Chairman and CEO of Renewal Fuels, added that Dr. Brandenburg's appointment represents a major step forward for American Fusion, noting that his technical vision and commercialization focus will be invaluable as the company builds an infrastructure-grade fusion platform.
For additional information on Dr. Brandenburg's background, his full curriculum vitae is available at https://kepleraerospace.com/about-us/dr-john-brandenburg-phd/. More information about Kepler Fusion Technologies and its Texatron™ platform can be found at https://www.keplerfusion.com and https://americanfusionenergy.com.
The appointment comes as the fusion energy sector attracts increasing investment and attention as a potential source of clean, abundant power. Dr. Brandenburg's extensive background in both theoretical plasma physics and practical engineering at national laboratories positions him to address the technical challenges of bringing fusion energy to commercial scale. His work on the Texatron™ platform, which is designed for modular, infrastructure-grade deployment, could accelerate the timeline for practical fusion energy applications in industrial, commercial, and grid-constrained settings.
