Proxima Fusion receives 20 million euros for the development of fusion energy

Proxima Fusion aims to develop a clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy through the development of fusion power plants and receives support from investors such as redalpine and Bayern Kapital

Landshut/Munich, April 10, 2024 - Proxima Fusion GmbH, based in Munich and specialized in the development of fusion power plants, has successfully closed a seed financing round of 20 million euros. In addition to the lead investor redalpine, Bayern Kapital and other co-investors such as the DeepTech & Climate Fund and the Max Planck Foundation participated in this round.

The funds from this financing round will mainly be used for the further development of key technologies in the hardware and software area as well as for the expansion of the team with qualified engineers and physicists.

Focus on fusion system

Proxima Fusion is pursuing the goal of developing a functional fusion plant and realizing fusion power plants in the long term. The use of fusion energy could potentially provide a clean and almost inexhaustible source of energy and thus contribute to independence from fossil fuels.

In April 2023, we got started with both the technical optimization and the development of magnets made of high-temperature superconductors.

Dr. Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion

Stellarator technology plays a central role in this. This technology uses magnetic fields to control the plasma required for fusion. Compared to other fusion technologies, stellarators are considered to be more energy-efficient and flexible.

Thanks to partnerships with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Proxima Fusion has outstanding development expertise and access to state-of-the-art experimental facilities such as the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X). Monika Steger, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital, emphasized that fusion energy is a potential source of hope for independence from fossil fuels and that Proxima Fusion contributes to Bavaria's position as a high-tech and research location.

Cloud-based simulation environment

The company has also developed a cloud-based stellarator optimization and simulation environment called StarFinder, which uses AI-powered design and engineering. This is intended to further improve the performance of the stellarators.

Dr. Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, reiterates the importance of support from high-profile investors for the company.

KIT at the center of German fusion research

After we reported last week about the funding of Gauss Fusion which is also collaborating with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), we have now received news of Proxima Fusion's successful financing round. This also involved the development of magnetic coils for the development of fusion power plants.