Proxima Fusion plans a EUR 140 million plant to make the tape its own magnets need
Proxima Fusion is building its own supplier for the superconducting tape its magnets depend on. Lower Saxony is co-funding what would be the first plant of its kind in Germany and Europe.
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What happened
- Proxima Fusion, based in Munich, signed a memorandum of understanding with the German state of Lower Saxony to lay the foundations for large-scale industrial production of high-temperature superconducting tape there.
- Around EUR 140 million in investment is planned for the first two phases of the project, which run until the end of 2029.
- The plan comes months after Proxima raised EUR 411 million, a round TechCrunch says moved it up the ranks of the best-funded fusion startups.
- Under current plans Proxima needs about 20,000 kilometres of the tape for its Alpha demonstrator and a further 40,000 kilometres for the Stellaris power plant.
- The vast majority of HTS tape today is made in China and Japan, according to TechCrunch.
Why it matters
- Who has to decide decision Proxima has taken on the cost curve of its most critical input: the release ties cost per metre to long-term purchase volumes, so a slip in Alpha or Stellaris leaves the line without the volume that makes tape cheap.
- Who's exposed exposure State money is committed to a plant whose anchor customer is a demonstrator that has not been built.
- What's now possible capability A tape line sized for reactors also has buyers in high-performance electricity grids, medical imaging and treatment, and advanced propulsion, so Europe could end up with a domestic supplier even if stellarators run late.
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The factory's first customer is Proxima. Francesco Sciortino, the company's co-founder and CEO, said "Alpha and Stellaris will create the demand required to build this manufacturing expertise locally" [20]. The press release makes the same point from the supplier's side: long-term purchase volumes will be critical to scaling production, retaining manufacturing expertise and reducing the cost per metre [19]. The plant's cost per metre depends on Proxima's own two machines getting built.
The EUR 140 million works out at roughly EUR 2,300 for every kilometre of tape those machines will need [17]. The figure is construction capex measured against captive demand. Proxima did not disclose the plant's annual output, a price per metre, or which bodies fund the public share beyond Lower Saxony, so the proposition that tape volume paces the fusion buildout cannot be tested against the published figures.
Proxima wants the total investment financed equally by private capital and public funding [15]. An even split of EUR 140 million puts the public half at EUR 70 million, and Lower Saxony's EUR 21 million is exactly 30 percent of that [4][25]. The release calls the state's share just under 30 percent of the proposed public contribution. Either the public pot is a little above EUR 70 million, or the whole investment runs past the EUR 140 million booked for the first two phases [25]. "We are making Lower Saxony a pioneer in European HTS manufacturing," said Olaf Lies, the state's Minister-President [21].
The case in the record is about where the tape is made. It becomes superconducting at relatively high temperatures and carries current with almost no resistive loss, which is what makes the compact, powerful magnets that hold a stellarator's plasma in place [10]. Industrial-scale production sits primarily in Asia [7]. Sciortino said Lower Saxony can "turn a supply-chain dependency into an enduring strategic strength for Germany and Europe" [24].
Make-or-buy on a critical input turns on whether your own demand fills a production line, and whether anybody other than you buys the thing. Proxima's own demand is about 60,000 kilometres of tape across two machines [16]. The other buyer is Veir, which is not a fusion company and uses HTS tape to raise the efficiency and power density of data centres [12].
What to watch
- A stated annual output in kilometres for the Lower Saxony line, which would show whether it can cover 60,000 km of Proxima demand and on what schedule.
- Whether the rest of the public funding is named, and whether it comes from Berlin, the EU, or other German states.
- Whether non-fusion buyers such as grid operators or data centre suppliers sign for capacity before the first two phases close in 2029.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence44
- Adoption18
- Hype gap+28
- Incentives78
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Munich-based Proxima Fusion signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Germany's State of Lower Saxony aimed at laying foundations for large-scale industrial production of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape in Lower Saxony.
- [2]
Around EUR 140 million in investment is planned for the first two project phases, running until the end of 2029.
- [3]
Proxima Fusion said Wednesday it plans to build a EUR 140 million factory to produce fusion-grade HTS tape.
- [4]
The State of Lower Saxony is providing EUR 21 million, representing just under 30% of the proposed public funding contribution.
- [5]
Under current plans, Proxima will require approximately 20,000 kilometres of HTS tape for Alpha and a further 40,000 kilometres for Stellaris.
- [6]
The startup's demonstration plant will use 20,000 kilometres of HTS tape, while its commercial power plant will need twice as much.
- [7]
HTS tape is currently manufactured at industrial scale primarily in Asia.
- [8]
Today, the vast majority of HTS tape is made in China and Japan.
- [9]
"HTS tape is one of the critical technologies needed to scale fusion rapidly at an industrial level," said Dr Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion.
- [10]
HTS tape becomes superconducting at relatively high temperatures and in that state carries current with virtually no resistive losses, allowing exceptionally powerful and compact electromagnets; magnets built from the tape generate the fields that confine and control the plasma inside a stellarator.
- [11]
The HTS manufacturing capacity would also serve other applications including high-performance electricity grids, medical imaging and treatment, advanced propulsion systems and other high-field magnet technologies.
- [12]
Veir uses HTS tape to boost the efficiency and power density of data centers.
- [13]
HTS tape emerged a little over a decade ago as one of the fundamental breakthroughs that enabled the current generation of fusion power startups, because it generates strong magnetic fields at relatively high temperatures and so allows smaller, more efficient reactor designs.
- [14]
The planned production site will be the first of its kind in Germany and Europe.
- [15]
Proxima aims to finance the total investment equally through private capital and public funding.
- [16]
Proxima's two machines together account for about 60,000 kilometres of HTS tape demand.
- [17]
The EUR 140 million planned for the first two phases is about EUR 2,333 per kilometre of the tape Proxima's own two machines will need.
- [18]
Establishing domestic production capacity is strategically important if the stellarator supply chain is to be located almost entirely within Europe.
- [19]
Long-term purchase volumes will be critical to scaling production, retaining manufacturing expertise and reducing the cost per metre.
- [20]
"Alpha and Stellaris will create the demand required to build this manufacturing expertise locally." - Dr Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion.
- [21]
"We are making Lower Saxony a pioneer in European HTS manufacturing," said Olaf Lies, Minister-President of Lower Saxony.
- [22]
The factory plan comes months after Proxima raised EUR 411 million in a round that moved it up the ranks of the best-funded fusion startups.
- [23]
The planned site is intended to underpin Proxima's Alpha fusion demonstrator, its planned Stellaris power plant and, ultimately, production of stellarators at scale.
- [24]
"Lower Saxony has the industrial base, energy expertise and political determination to turn a supply-chain dependency into an enduring strategic strength for Germany and Europe." - Dr Francesco Sciortino.
- [25]
An equal public-private split of EUR 140 million implies EUR 70 million of public funding, of which EUR 21 million is exactly 30 percent; because the release describes the state's share as just under 30 percent, the public contribution envisaged is somewhat above EUR 70 million or the total investment above EUR 140 million.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- interestingengineering.comFusion research to get major boost with new high-temperature superconducting tape manufacturing
1 article · September 13, 2026
- techcrunch.comProxima Fusion bets €140M on a critical fusion ingredient dominated by Asian suppliers
1 article · September 10, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Supply chain localisation
- Fusion Energy
- High-temperature superconductors
- European industrial policy
Entities
- Proxima Fusion
- High-temperature superconducting tape
- Francesco Sciortino