Proxima Fusion Signs Japanese Partnerships to Build Germany's Fusion Supply Chain

Under the Fujikura agreement, Proxima will assess the technical, commercial and economic feasibility of establishing an HTS tape supply chain in Lower Saxony, Germany, including possible local manufacturing. HTS tape is a key material for the compact, high-field magnets used in stellarators. The company anticipates needing roughly 20,000 kilometres of HTS tape for its Alpha demonstrator and around 40,000 kilometres for each commercial plant.

According to EU-Startups, Proxima co-founder and CEO Dr. Francesco Sciortino said the global race to fusion will be won in factories and supply chains, adding that Japan has spent decades building fusion engineering capabilities while Germany leads in stellarator engineering and knows how to industrialise.

The Munich-based startup has raised a series of funding rounds in recent years, including a €7 million pre-Seed round in 2023, a €20 million Seed round in 2024 and a €130 million round that followed.

The European Space Agency used the opening day of IAC 2026 in Türkiye to call for stronger European space capabilities and deeper international cooperation.