Europe is working hard to achieve energy independence and net-zero goals, but still lacks a scalable, home-grown solution for clean baseload power. Fusion energy, often called the “holy grail” of energy, has yet to show it can produce more energy than it uses. While companies in the US and Asia raised billions for fusion projects last year, Europe is behind due to delays with ITER and scattered national investments.
Munich-based Proxima Fusion wants to change that. The start-up, created from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in 2023, secured €400 million from Bavaria as part of a €2 billion plan to build a next-gen stellarator test facility near Munich.
The deal, inked this week with RWE and IPP, puts both Bavaria and Proxima on the hook for 20% each. Now, all eyes are on Berlin for the remaining €1.2B in federal funding, expected later this year.
Proxima’s roadmap begins with a demonstration reactor — Alpha — in Garching, which aims to become the first stellarator worldwide to demonstrate net energy gain by the early 2030s. If successful, it will pave the way for Stellaris, the first commercial fusion plant at RWE’s former nuclear power station site in Gundremmingen.
Turning decades of public research into real, clean, limitless energy — finally within reach?
Proxima Fusion was co-founded by Francesco Sciortino, Lucio Milanese, Jorrit Lion, Martin Kubie, and Jonathan Schilling from IPP’s leading fusion research division to turn decades of public research into a real industrial solution for clean, limitless energy.
Building on IPP’s Wendelstein 7-X breakthroughs, Proxima’s design uses high-temp superconductors and simulation-driven engineering to push efficiency and scale. Their QI-HTS stellarator aims to slash maintenance downtime and keep plasma running longer, one of the biggest hurdles for commercial fusion.
Unlike most global competitors who use tokamak reactors, Proxima is focusing on stellarator technology. This complex magnetic setup keeps plasma stable without the pulsing disruptions that limit tokamak performance.
Unlike Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion Energy, and Tokamak Energy, Proxima is linked with Germany’s plasma research community and its industrial consortium, the Alpha Alliance.
Launched this week with more than 30 global partners, including Siemens Energy, Air Liquide, Thales, Eni, and RWE, the Alliance aims to industrialise fusion manufacturing by coordinating supply chains, component production, and assembly skills across Europe.
“This MoU is a milestone that visibly positions the European fusion industry on the global stage. It marks the starting point of an industrial ecosystem that consolidates existing and new know-how in Europe and anchors value creation here. This marks the beginning of a long-term industrial growth trajectory over the coming decades, creating new export opportunities for Germany and Europe,” Sciortino said
So, what’s next?
Alpha is set to go live in the early 2030s, with Stellaris, the first commercial fusion plant, on deck for later in the decade. If all goes to plan, Germany could be home to the world’s first grid-connected commercial fusion reactor, making Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s fusion leadership vision a reality.
Proxima plans to finance its share through private international investors and aims to secure federal support later this year under the “Fusion Action Plan.” This plan allocates over €2 billion to develop a domestic fusion industry by 2029. The project is expected to create thousands of skilled jobs and establish Bavaria as the centre of a new European fusion cluster.
But there’s still a big question mark: without Berlin’s €1.2B, the test plant can’t move forward. Still, Sciortino is confident. This mix of political will, industry muscle, and scientific firepower could finally turn fusion from theory into reality for Europe.
