Proxima Fusion bets €140M on a critical fusion ingredient dominated by Asian suppliers
News Source
•Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:38:00 +0000
📰 What Happened
German startup Proxima Fusion plans to build a factory costing 140 million euros. It will make special tape used in fusion reactors.
The tape is called high-temperature superconducting, or HTS, tape. It creates strong magnetic fields that hold the hot plasma needed for fusion.
The state of Lower Saxony is giving 21 million euros. The rest comes from public and private funds.
🔍 The Backstory
Fusion could one day give the world clean, almost endless energy. Today, most HTS tape is made in China and Japan.
HTS tape appeared about a decade ago. It helped create a new wave of fusion startups, because it allows smaller and cheaper reactors.
Proxima raised 411 million euros earlier this year. Its test plant will use 20,000 kilometres of tape. Fusion is still far from powering homes.
🎯 Why It Matters
Fusion may one day supply clean power without much pollution. Building key parts at home could lower costs and reduce reliance on other countries.
German startup Proxima Fusion plans to build a factory costing 140 million euros. It will make special tape used in fusion reactors.
The tape is called high-temperature superconducting, or HTS, tape. It creates strong magnetic fields that hold the hot plasma needed for fusion.
The state of Lower Saxony is giving 21 million euros. The rest comes from public and private funds.
Fusion could one day give the world clean, almost endless energy. Today, most HTS tape is made in China and Japan.
HTS tape appeared about a decade ago. It helped create a new wave of fusion startups, because it allows smaller and cheaper reactors.
Proxima raised 411 million euros earlier this year. Its test plant will use 20,000 kilometres of tape. Fusion is still far from powering homes.
Fusion may one day supply clean power without much pollution. Building key parts at home could lower costs and reduce reliance on other countries.