MUNICH: German start-up Proxima Fusion announced Wednesday it raised 130 million euros ($148 million) in a record funding round, with investors betting the company can develop the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant.
The Series A financing, co-led by Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital, marks the largest private fusion investment in Europe to date. The round boosts Proxima Fusion’s total funding to more than 185 million euros in public and private capital, accelerating its goal of building a fusion power plant in the 2030s.
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, has gained momentum as a potential clean energy solution. Advocates say it could revolutionize energy production by generating vast amounts of power without greenhouse gas emissions.
“Fusion has become a real, strategic opportunity to shift global energy dependence from natural resources to technological leadership,” said Proxima Fusion CEO Francesco Sciortino. The Munich-based company, spun out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics two years ago, aims to leverage partnerships with research institutions to bring a fusion plant online within a decade.
Fusion works by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium, releasing enormous energy. While scientists have pursued the technology since the 1930s, replicating it at scale remains a challenge. The International Atomic Energy Agency says fusion could provide nearly limitless clean energy, but skeptics argue commercialization is still far off.
Proxima Fusion is developing a stellarator, an alternative to the more common tokamak design. Stellarators use complex magnetic fields to contain superheated plasma, potentially offering greater stability.
“Stellarators aren’t just the most technologically viable approach to fusion energy—they’re the power plants of the future,” said Balderton Capital partner Daniel Waterhouse.
The funding underscores growing investor confidence in fusion as governments and companies seek carbon-free energy alternatives.