German nuclear fusion startup Proxima Fusion has raised 411 million euros (US$468 million) from investors including Google to develop what it said would be Europe’s first commercial fusion power plant.

The round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with German utility RWE and Google joining Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, and Cherry Ventures.

The funding values Proxima at US$2.7 billion.

The Munich-based company is developing a stellarator, a donut-shaped fusion device that uses external magnets to confine plasma instead of relying on a large electric current within the plasma.

Proxima said the design could reduce disruption risks and support continuous operation.

The company is the first spinout from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and said its technology builds on Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator.

The institute describes Wendelstein 7-X as the world’s largest stellarator, built to test whether the design could support a future fusion power plant. It has sustained plasma discharges for up to 30 minutes.

Proxima aims to operate an experimental reactor in the early 2030s before targeting a commercial fusion power plant later that decade.

Fusion power has not yet been commercialized. US rivals, including Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion Energy, have raised larger funding rounds.

🔗 Source: Cailianshe