A Munich-based fusion startup that didn’t even exist three years ago is now sitting on one of the largest war chests in European energy history. Proxima Fusion, spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in April 2023, closed a record-breaking €130 million Series A round in June 2025, co-led by Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital. That round alone was the largest private fusion funding deal Europe had ever seen. Total funding now exceeds €185 million, and the company is targeting net energy generation from fusion in the early 2030s.
A €2 billion stellarator project takes shape
In February 2026, Proxima signed a memorandum of understanding with RWE, the Free State of Bavaria, and the Max Planck Institute’s IPP division to build what they’re calling the “Alpha” demonstration stellarator. The price tag: roughly €2 billion. Bavaria alone has committed €400 million to the project, with the site being the decommissioned Gundremmingen nuclear power plant. Proxima is also seeking an additional €1.2 billion in federal funding from Germany to close the gap.
The technology itself is a quasi-isodynamic stellarator. Unlike the tokamak design, stellarators use twisted magnetic coils to confine plasma without needing a continuous electrical current running through it, making them potentially more stable and capable of continuous operation.
