German fusion energy start-up Proxima Fusion has secured a record-breaking €130 million in Series A funding, marking the largest single investment to date in Europe’s fusion energy sector. The financing round, led by Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital, underscores growing investor confidence in Europe’s role in the global race to develop zero-emissions power through nuclear fusion.
The Munich-based company, spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics just two years ago, is pioneering a next-generation stellarator device — a complex magnetic confinement system designed to produce stable hydrogen plasma, the key ingredient in nuclear fusion.
“This is a bet on Europe’s ability to lead in solving one of humanity’s biggest challenges,” said Filip Dames, founding partner at Cherry Ventures. “There’s not that many trillion-dollar companies out there, but if one could become that in energy, we believe it’s Proxima.”
Building the Magnet That Could “Change History”
Proxima plans to use the new funding to construct its Stellarator Model Coil, a unique magnet system that CEO Francesco Sciortino claims will be “the magnet that changes history.” Construction is set to be completed by 2027, followed by a €1 billion demonstration plant by 2031, which the company hopes will receive partial government funding.
The ultimate goal is to build Europe’s first commercial fusion power plant by the end of the 2030s, tapping into the potential of fusion to deliver abundant, clean, and stable electricity.
Fusion power has long been the holy grail of energy research, promising virtually limitless power by fusing atomic nuclei—a process that emits no carbon and produces minimal radioactive waste. Unlike fission, the method used in current nuclear reactors, fusion is inherently safer but notoriously difficult to achieve at scale.
Stellarator vs Tokamak: A European Bet
While most fusion funding has historically gone into tokamak-based designs—such as those pursued by Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Sam Altman-backed Helion—Proxima is betting on the less conventional but more stable stellarator.
Stellarators are harder to engineer due to their twisted magnetic coils, but Proxima argues they are better suited for continuous energy production, making them ideal for real-world power plants.
Europe’s Fusion Moment?
Proxima’s rise comes as Europe seeks to reassert its leadership in fusion research, a field it has dominated scientifically for decades. The world’s most advanced stellarator, the Wendelstein 7-X, is located in Greifswald, eastern Germany, but much of the recent funding momentum has shifted to the US and China.
Sciortino has issued a pointed message to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a vocal proponent of fusion research: “You’ve asked for a lighthouse project for Germany. We’re delivering a lighthouse project.”
Without timely government backing, Sciortino warns, Europe risks becoming a support base for breakthroughs made elsewhere: “If you don’t invest at the right time as a government, then it’s all for nothing. You’ve just done science for the sake of helping our American or Chinese colleagues.”
Investors See Physics, Not Fantasy
While fusion investment is widely considered high-risk, high-reward, backers say Proxima’s scientific pedigree and engineering capabilities set it apart.
Daniel Waterhouse, general partner at Balderton Capital, said: “It’s definitely a different kind of risk than in a typical software company. But we believe the physics here is solved. Now it’s an engineering challenge.”
Proxima’s 5-person founding team, led by Sciortino, includes physicists and engineers from Europe’s top research labs. The company has also distinguished itself by using advanced simulation software to model complex designs before hardware is built — a key advantage in minimizing costly trial-and-error development cycles.
As the private fusion race heats up globally, Proxima’s breakthrough funding round may mark a turning point for Europe’s ambitions — signaling that the continent won’t just observe the clean energy revolution, but may help lead it.
