en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 7, German fusion company Proxima Fusion announced the completion of a €411 million funding round, valuing the company at €2.4 billion. The company stated that this makes it the highest-funded fusion company in Europe. The round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with RWE and Google participating as strategic investors, joined by KfW Capital, SPRIND, Burda Principal Investments, and others.
German energy company RWE had previously signed an agreement with Proxima to jointly build the first stellarator fusion substation on the site of a decommissioned nuclear fission power plant in Gundremmingen, Bavaria. RWE's further equity participation in this round demonstrates its continued support for the project. Google's involvement reflects the tech industry's interest in fusion energy as a long-term, stable, carbon-free energy option.
Proxima stated that this funding round is one of the largest private investments in the European tech sector this year and the largest investment ever in the European fusion field. The funds will be used to support the company's construction of the Alpha net-energy stellarator demonstration device near Munich, Germany. Led by Proxima, the project is being advanced in collaboration with the Bavarian state government, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, and RWE, aiming to validate key engineering technologies and lay the foundation for subsequent commercial fusion power plants.
In less than three years since its founding, Proxima has accumulated over €650 million in funding, including €95 million in public grants. The company said the new funds will be primarily used to complete the development of stellarator model coils, expand production of high-temperature superconducting cables and magnets, and continue developing the engineering and manufacturing systems required for stellarators. The company also plans to continue hiring for engineering, manufacturing, and operations positions to accelerate project progress.
Proxima Fusion is the first spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, based on the QI-HTS stellarator concept and leveraging research results from the Wendelstein 7-X project. The company plans to develop a net-energy fusion demonstration device through the Alpha project, targeting operation in the early 2030s, and paving the way for its commercial stellarator fusion power plant, Stellaris, to be built in the late 2030s. Currently, Proxima is headquartered in Munich, with offices in Zurich and Oxford, and employs approximately 200 people.
