Proxima Fusion, the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), has raised €20 million in seed funding to propel the Munich-based startup towards building the first generation of fusion power plants based on quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators with high-temperature superconductors. Proxima Fusion’s vision is to lead Europe into a new era of clean energy, for good.
Proxima Fusion’s seed round, led by redalpine, was preempted and oversubscribed, with participation from the Bavarian government-backed Bayern Kapital, German government-backed DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and the Max Planck Foundation. Existing investors, including Plural, UVC Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Wilbe, and TOMORROW of Visionaries Club have doubled down on their pre-seed investments.
QI stellarators hold promise for a carbon-free, safe and effectively limitless source of energy. The science behind this class of magnetic confinement fusion devices has been the subject of research for more than six decades; however, achieving sustained and commercially viable fusion remains a challenge. In 2022, stellarator optimization results entirely disrupted the field, enabling Proxima Fusion to tackle these challenges with an engineering- and simulation-focused approach, leveraging advanced computing.
Founded in 2023, the company builds on groundbreaking results from the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment, the world’s largest stellarator at the Max Planck IPP, resulting from €1.3B of visionary public investment by the German Government and the European Union.
“Our first year of operation has exceeded all expectations,” said Dr. Francesco Sciortino, Co-Founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion. “In April 2023, we hit the ground running on both engineering optimization and high-temperature superconducting magnets. One year later, we are leading Europe into a new phase of stellarator R&D, having made huge progress in integrated design with our StarFinder framework.”
Commenting on the new funding, he added: “The appetite from high-caliber strategic investors validates the quality of the team we’ve assembled, our great early progress, and the groundbreaking impact of what we’re aiming to achieve”.
Simulation-driven engineering has been a key feature of Proxima Fusion since its inception. Now, AI-enabled design has taken the center stage. The entire engineering program is being structured to collect training data and enable AI across domains. “When we started Proxima Fusion, we saw the opportunity for radical automation of engineering design in QI stellarators”, comments Co-Founder Martin Kubie. “Over one year, we have gone a long way to enable that vision.”
In backing the startup, investors join forces with a team that is building on decades of peer-reviewed research, with the audacity to redefine stellarator engineering and deeptech ambition in Europe. In less than 12 months, the company has grown to more than 30 employees, attracting talent from the likes of Google, Tesla, TUM, Harvard, MIT, CentraleSupélec, and EPFL.
Harald Nieder, physicist and General Partner at redalpine, stated: “Fusion energy presents both incredible challenges and unprecedented opportunities, and it must be pursued to ensure a clean energy future. I’m incredibly excited to partner with Proxima Fusion’s game-changing team, setting a new standard for European deeptech moonshots.”
Ian Hogarth, Partner at Plural, said: “W7-X is one of the technological wonders of the modern world. Proxima Fusion, originally spinning out from the organization behind it, aims to take the vision of W7-X to industrial level. This is GDP-level impact in the making and the team that will bring fusion to the grid and enable a clean energy future.”
“Now the key is flawless integration of the achieved scientific milestones, and first-class engineering quality,” commented Benjamin Erhart, General Partner at UVC Partners. “Proxima Fusion’s strengths in automated design, AI-enabled engineering, high-temperature superconducting magnets, as well as rapid team growth, give us unwavering confidence in their ability to turn steady-state fusion energy into a reality.”
Besides speeding up the development of key enabling technologies in both hardware and software domains, Proxima Fusion will use the Seed funding to further expand the team with world-class engineers and physicists, as well as to match public funding awards.
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- Source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/04/munich-based-proxima-fusion-bags-e20-million-seed-to-accelerate-timeline-to-fusion-power/
