Proxima Fusion

What Proxima Fusion does

Proxima Fusion GmbH is a Munich-based fusion energy company founded in 2023 as the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), headquartered at Flößergasse 2, 81369 München and registered at the District Court of Munich under HRB 283423. The company is engineering quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator fusion power plants using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets, building directly on the record-breaking Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experimental program. Its team of approximately 100 scientists, engineers, and operators is drawn from IPP, MIT, SpaceX, Tesla, McLaren, Google X, KIT, Harvard, Cambridge, and other frontier institutions, and it operates engineering offices at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Zurich and on the UK's Culham Campus in addition to its Munich headquarters.

Name

Proxima Fusion

Legal name

Proxima Fusion GmbH

Website

https://proximafusion.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Proxima Fusion is a Munich-based fusion energy company spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in 2023, developing quasi-isodynamic stellarator fusion power plants using HTS magnets and AI-driven simulation, targeting commercial grid electricity in the late 2030s.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Pre-revenue / Future electricity sales: Proxima Fusion is pre-revenue. Long-term plan targets commercial sale of fusion electricity from Stellaris (late 2030s) following demonstration of net energy gain in the Alpha stellarator (early 2030s). Current activity consists of R&D funded by venture capital and public grants rather than commercial product revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Proxima Fusion designs and develops quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator-based fusion power plants, using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets and a proprietary cloud-based simulation framework (StarFinder) for rapid design optimization. Its product roadmap runs from the Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) demonstration magnet in 2027, to the Alpha demonstration stellarator targeting net energy gain in the early 2030s, to Stellaris — the first peer-reviewed integrated concept for a commercial QI-HTS stellarator fusion power plant, targeted for grid deployment in the late 2030s.

Product overview

Proxima Fusion offers a single integrated product platform centered on designing and building quasi-isodynamic high-temperature superconducting (QI-HTS) stellarator fusion power plants. The portfolio comprises the StarFinder cloud-based stellarator optimization and design framework (the simulation/software backbone), the Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) demonstration magnet (the first HTS hardware milestone in 2027), the Alpha demonstration stellarator (a net-energy-gain demonstration device targeted for the early 2030s in Garching), and Stellaris (the commercial fusion power plant concept, peer-reviewed and targeted for grid deployment in the late 2030s). Specialized component technologies, such as the 240 GHz gyrotron microwave heating systems being co-developed with Thales, KIT, and Diamond Materials, support each of these devices. Together these named products form a staged roadmap from cloud-based stellarator design to hardware execution to grid-scale commercial fusion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stellaris: Proxima's peer-reviewed fusion power plant concept published in Fusion Engineering and Design; the first integrated concept for a commercial quasi-isodynamic stellarator fusion power plant.
• Alpha
• StarFinder

Products and services

• Stellaris Stellaris is Proxima Fusion's peer-reviewed, first-of-a-kind commercial QI-HTS stellarator fusion power plant concept, designed to put fusion electricity on the grid in the late 2030s. It is the first stellarator concept to integrate electromagnetic, structural, thermal, and neutronics simulations into a fully coherent design, producing more power per unit volume than any previously designed stellarator power plant.
• Alpha Alpha is Proxima's demonstration stellarator, planned for construction in Garching, Germany (near Max Planck IPP), targeting net fusion energy gain in steady-state for the first time in the early 2030s. It is the bridge device between the Stellarator Model Coil and the commercial Stellaris power plant.
• Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) The SMC is Proxima's first HTS non-planar magnet, a demonstration magnet targeted for completion in 2027. It will de-risk high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology for stellarators and validate the manufacturing and assembly processes required for Alpha and Stellaris.
• StarFinder StarFinder is Proxima's proprietary cloud-based stellarator optimization and design framework that leverages supercomputing to rapidly iterate on quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator designs at lower cost and higher speed than ever before, enabling rapid prototyping and ML-driven design. It is used internally to design the SMC, Alpha, and Stellaris.
• Microwave Heating Systems (Gyrotrons) Next-generation 240 GHz, 1+ MW gyrotron microwave heating systems being co-developed with Thales, KIT, and Diamond Materials to heat plasma to over 100 million degrees Celsius in Proxima's QI-HTS stellarator power plants, under the German BMFTR HeatQIS project.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 10 million times more energy than fossil-fuel combustion from fusion reactions without CO2 emissions or meltdown risk.
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Industrial Development Board (IDB) — Luc Rémont, Dr. Michael Bolle, Ann Mettler, Erich ClementiflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Industrial Development Board convening former EDF/Schneider Electric CEO Luc Rémont, former Bosch CTO/CDO Dr. Michael Bolle, former EC Director-General Ann Mettler, and E.ON Chair Erich Clementi to advise on scaling Proxima's fusion industrialization.
• ThalesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Co-developing next-generation 240 GHz coaxial-cavity gyrotrons with Proxima and KIT under the BMFTR HeatQIS project; Thales is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-power microwave sources with 40+ years of gyrotron experience.
• Diamond MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Industrial partner in the HeatQIS gyrotron project, contributing industrial expertise in synthetic diamond components for gyrotron windows and reactor interfaces.
• Alpha Alliance (industrial partner network)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2026European industrial alliance of 50+ companies launched in late February 2026 to industrialize stellarator fusion hardware and serve as a template for European fusion industry development.
• RWE AGflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026MoU co-signer to build Europe's first commercial stellarator fusion power plant (Stellaris) on RWE's former nuclear site in Gundremmingen; partnership also covers the Alpha demonstration stellarator in Garching.
• Free State of BavariaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026MoU co-signer with RWE, Max Planck IPP, and Proxima; committing up to €400 million through its High-Tech Agenda and ~20% co-financing of Stellaris; previously awarded Proxima a €460M funding commitment for fusion development.
• University of Wisconsin–MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Research collaborator on the Stellaris power plant concept and on stellarator physics (e.g., quasi-helical symmetry lineage).
• CEA SaclayminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Listed among Proxima's research and institutional partners on the About page.
• Instituto Superior Técnico LisboaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Listed as a Proxima partner in the Stellaris press release and on the About page.
• TUM Venture LabsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Partner supporting Proxima's Munich deep-tech ecosystem and talent pipelines.
• UnternehmerTUMminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Partner supporting Proxima's Munich deep-tech ecosystem and talent development.
• Max Planck InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Technology transfer partner that facilitated Proxima's spin-out from the Max Planck IPP.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2024Co-developer of gyrotron technology with Thales and Proxima (HeatQIS project); also a research collaborator on Stellaris. Professor John Jelonnek leads KIT's high-power microwave technology work for Proxima.
• University of BonncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2024Academic partner in the €6.5M BMBF/BMFTR project to develop AI-driven simulation tools for stellarator fusion power plant optimization.
• Technical University of Munich (TUM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2024Academic partner in the €6.5M BMBF/BMFTR project on AI-driven simulation tools for stellarator fusion power plants; also part of the broader Munich deep-tech ecosystem via TUM Venture Labs.
• Forschungszentrum JülichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2024Academic partner in the €6.5M BMBF/BMFTR project to develop AI-driven simulation tools for stellarator fusion power plant optimization.
• Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 May 2023Proxima is the first-ever spin-out from IPP, building on the record-breaking Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment; ongoing public-private partnership with IPP scientists on Stellarator theory and design (Helander, Nührenberg, Goodman, Xanthopoulos, Plunk).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems: MIT spin-out and the most well-capitalized private fusion company (~$2B raised), pursuing a tokamak approach with HTS magnets. Directly comparable as a venture-backed fusion power plant developer targeting grid-scale commercial deployment in the early-to-mid 2030s.
• Type One Energy: US-based fusion company developing stellarator fusion power plants based on quasi-isomnetic designs. The closest direct competitor to Proxima in the QI-stellarator space and pursuing a similar path to commercial fusion electricity.
• Tokamak Energy: UK-based private fusion company developing compact spherical tokamaks with HTS magnets. Comparable as a European-headquartered, venture-backed fusion power plant developer pursuing grid-scale commercial deployment.
• TAE Technologies: US-based fusion company pursuing field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma physics with proton-boron fuel. Comparable as a well-funded, late-stage private fusion developer targeting commercial fusion power generation.
• Helion Energy: US-based fusion company developing pulsed magnetic fusion with direct electricity generation, backed by Sam Altman and others. Comparable as a venture-backed fusion developer targeting commercial electricity supply with signed offtake agreements (Microsoft).
• General Fusion: Canadian magnetized target fusion developer backed by Shopify's Jeff Bezos and others; comparable as a venture-backed fusion power plant developer pursuing grid-scale demonstration.
• Zap Energy: US-based sheared-flow Z-pinch fusion developer; comparable as a venture-backed private fusion power plant developer pursuing a distinct confinement approach.

Emerging players

• Renaissance Fusion: European (France-based) fusion startup developing stellarator technology with HTS magnets and manufactured blanket systems. Comparable as a stellarator-focused European fusion peer at an earlier stage of capitalization than Proxima.
• First Light Fusion: UK-based inertial confinement fusion startup. Comparable as a European-headquartered private fusion developer pursuing a different confinement approach to reach commercial fusion power.

Broad incumbents

• ITER Organization: International government-backed tokamak megaproject under construction in France. Comparable as the dominant reference design for magnetic confinement fusion and a potential competitor for talent, supply chain capacity, and regulatory frameworks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@proximafusion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/proximafusion
• Instagraminstagram.com/proximafusion
• Xx.com/proximafusion

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds10 records

Investors32 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Proxima Fusion