Germany is committing substantial national resources to develop advanced fusion energy technology, with Proxima Fusion securing €400m from the state of Bavaria and seeking over a billion dollars more from the federal government. This investment aims to leverage Germany's deep manufacturing expertise to secure a future of abundant, cheap, and emission-free electricity, positioning the nation at the forefront of a critical global industry.
Proxima Fusion, based in Munich, recently received €400m from the state of Bavaria and is currently bidding for more than a billion dollars of funding from the federal government, with a decision anticipated next year. This significant national backing underscores the strategic importance placed on developing the Stellaris fusion power plant, designed to follow the experimental Alpha stellarator.
Central to Proxima's strategy is Germany's robust manufacturing sector, particularly its skilled workforce. CEO Francesco Sciortino highlighted the nation's 550,000 CNC machinists, a figure significantly higher than the 350,000 in the entire United States, as a crucial national asset for the complex task of building intricate magnetic coils.
Sciortino acknowledges the immense challenge, stating he "loses sleep" over the ability to produce these complex magnets at the required speed and cost to make the stellarator economically viable. The first magnet is expected to be "very complicated and very expensive," with the goal to drive down costs and accelerate production.
National Investment in Future Power
Proxima Fusion is pursuing a stellarator design, which Sciortino describes as a "dumb machine" that is "objectively very difficult to design" and "objectively very difficult to build." However, he asserts that if successful, its twisted geometry could make the burning hot plasma easier to control than in the rival tokamak design, which he calls a "beast" compared to the stellarator's "little cat."
The project builds upon decades of foundational work by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and its W7-X stellarator, demonstrating a long-term national commitment to this advanced technology. Sciortino aims to get Alpha operational in a third of the time it took for W7-X to become functional.
The Global Energy Race
Proxima is engaged in a global race with 53 other groups developing fusion technology, according to the Fusion Industry Association. One key competitor is the UK-based Step project, which employs the tokamak approach and is backed by the UK government.
Ryan Ramsey, director of Organisational Performance at Step, argues that tokamaks possess "the advantage of a deep experimental foundation built over decades" and have "demonstrated plasma performance closer to what's required for a fusion power plant." He also notes their "comparatively simpler magnetic geometry."
Sciortino reflected on Europe's past, stating, "We [Europeans] missed the digital wave, didn't we?" He then emphasized the enduring strength in manufacturing, noting, "But it turns out that we still have people being trained in manufacturing." This highlights a strategic imperative to leverage existing national strengths in critical future industries.
A prototype magnetic coil is currently under construction and is scheduled for testing next year. Following successful tests, Proxima plans to build 40 more coils for Alpha, with a magnet factory already in early stages of construction. Sciortino projects the need to "make magnets at a crazy, crazy speed" by 2028 or 2029.
Sciortino believes that with key suppliers across Europe, the continent could lead a future fusion industry, positioning European nations at the forefront of this transformative energy sector.