Proxima Fusion

We were glad to support the first version of a new Fusion Reactor Design course, a collaboration between Technische Universität Graz and Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich). The course brought together 25+ students from both universities to work on the conceptual design of a stellarator experiment for teaching and research purposes. Key topics and instructors included: 🔹 Stellarator Optimization with Christopher Albert of TU Graz 🔹 Magnets with Proxima Co-Founder Jonathan Schilling 🔹 Vacuum Vessel Design with Robert Schennach of TU Graz 🔹 Diagnostics with Gregor Birkenmeier of TU Munich 🔹 Heating with Ulrich Stroth of TU Munich The course aimed to design a #stellarator able to be built by university students at a Master’s level, with the following design goals: ✔️ Compact size, with the ability to fit through a standard door  ✔️ Magnetic field magnitude of 87.5 mT, so that the plasma can by heated with 2.45 GHz microwaves ✔️ Windows to observe inside the vacuum chamber ✔️ Measurable flux surfaces ✔️ Fast particles, with a kinetic energy of around 200 eV ✔️ An ultra-high vacuum of below 10^-8 mbar Stay tuned for future courses, in which students will start building this stellarator! 

🌟 Happy Birthday to IPP-Greifswald! 🌟 This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Greifswald branch of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, now home to the world’s most advanced stellarator, W7-X. With invaluable contributions from Proxima’s technical advisors Lutz Wegener and Felix Schauer, the record-breaking W7-X experiment has been paving the most promising path to the commercialization of #fusionenergy. As the first spin-out company in the history of the IPP, Proxima is building on decades of groundbreaking #stellarator research since this visionary project began thirty years ago.

Our magnet team recently gathered at the PSI Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland, where we’re collaborating with PSI’s Magnet Development Laboratory on the development of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. Proxima team members—alongside our technical advisor Felix Schauer—kicked off this closely integrated collaboration with a working session that included a technical deep dive, laying out our plans for process development and prototyping. Partnering with the experts and state-of-the-art facilities at PSI empowers us to accelerate our demonstration of HTS magnet technology and de-risk this critical component for #stellarator fusion power plants. Together, we’re forging the future of HTS magnet innovation. 🧲⚡

Stellarator enthusiasts unite! 💫 The Proxima team was delighted to host a summer BBQ with over a dozen friends and colleagues from the Garching branch of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics—discussing stellarators of all sorts, the ways we’re overcoming the limits of tokamaks, and how we’re accelerating the path to the first fusion power plants. Here’s to the next generation of #fusionenergy pioneers!

Honored to welcome to the Proxima Fusion offices in Munich Robert Schlögl and Jan Wörner from the Bavarian Fusion Expert Committee, as well as Andrea Lübcke and Cyril Stephanos from the German National Academy of Sciences. We have discussed how to best achieve the goals of the Bavarian Government and its "Mission Kernfusion" program. The race to commercial #fusionenergy brings exciting opportunities to build a new industry in Bavaria, and leveraging those opportunities will require facilitating public-private partnerships and deploying R&D funding for critical engineering solutions. Looking forward to continuing a productive conversation that serves the entire fusion ecosystem!

Proxima Fusion is thrilled to be awarded a €2.5M grant and an opportunity for €15M investment from the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) as part of the #EICAccelerator program! We are among the 68 #deeptech startups selected out of 969 applicants, judged on the criteria of excellence, impact, and risk level. The €17.5M award in blended financing is dedicated to the design of our net-energy #stellarator, and will involve a series of milestone deliverables grounded in sound engineering and solid science—critical for measuring progress in the global race to commercial #fusionenergy. Thanks to the EIC, we’re one step closer to our mission of building stellarators to power the future and leading Europe into a new era of #cleanenergy, for good. 🇪🇺⚡ Read more: https://lnkd.in/efmutNrw

While leading the development of the record-breaking W7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Lutz Wegener (W7-X Head of Assembly) and Felix Schauer (W7-X Head of Cryogenics, then Head of Internal Components) couldn’t have known they would later mentor a team of physicists and engineers at Proxima Fusion. Together with Lutz and Felix, we're working to design and build the next generation of stellarators. Felix and Lutz have been advisors to Proxima since the very beginning of our journey, supporting us in engineering design, large-scale project planning, and industry partnerships. We’re grateful to have them on board and look forward to years of exciting progress together!

Championing a fusion-powered future in Europe 🇪🇺 Proxima Fusion was proud to participate in this week's EU Fusion Business Forum, bringing together #fusionenergy companies, suppliers, and industrial suppliers from across Europe. Proxima Co-Founder Lucio Milanese presented on opportunities within the growing fusion supply chain—including magnets, coil and intercoil support structures, and remote maintenance—as well as Proxima's path to commercial fusion power plants. As German Minister for Research and Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger stated in her keynote speech: "In Germany and Europe, we have strong technological leadership. Now is an ideal time to translate this leadership into commercial efforts to put fusion electricity on the grid."

It's an exciting time to be an integral part of the growing European fusion ecosystem! Co-Founder Lucio Milanese showcased Proxima's rapid team growth and technical progress during its first full year of operation at today's 5th Forum Fusion Germany in Berlin, attended by a record number of participants including representatives from ITER Organization and Fusion for Energy. This year's Forum also saw the first public presentation of the German fusion association ProFusion, of which Proxima Fusion is a founding member—as well as an address by German government officials, reiterating a commitment to €370M in funding for private-public fusion partnerships in Germany over the next four years. Together, we're building a robust #fusionenergy supply chain in Europe and paving the path toward a future powered by fusion.

Vor 60 Jahren haben wir einen Menschen auf den Mond geschossen, heute wollen wir das Sonnenfeuer auf die Erde holen. Und das im Land der Dichter und Denker. Today, I had the honour to participate in the expert hearing on fusion regulation at the Deutscher Bundestag. The race for the first fusion power plant has begun. Germany must urgently position itself to attract international investment and secure market access in an increasingly competitive #fusionenergy ecosystem — critical for the future of European energy resilience and energy security. Creating regulatory clarity is an important next step to illustrate the commitment of the German government to fusion energy, that comes at no budgetary costs. The U.S. and UK have demonstrated a fast path to regulatory clarity by setting specific timelines on regulation and clarifying basic responsibilities and the overarching regulatory approach before diving into details. At today’s hearing on a proposed legal framework for fusion power plants in Germany and Europe, I made the case that the German government should follow suit. You can watch my full statement to the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment here:  https://lnkd.in/d7D6CMr8