Proxima Fusion
Develops commercial fusion reactors using QI-HTS
Mechanical Design Engineer
More locations: Munich, Germany
About the job
- Experience designing and analysing mechanical components and assemblies, including proficiency in computer-aided design (CAD). Experience with 3DExperience/CATIA v6 and ANSYS is beneficial but not essential.
- Experience designing and delivering conceptual and detailed designs of mechanical, structural, thermal, or electro-mechanical equipment, particularly for research, development, prototyping, and manufacturing.
- Knowledge and experience designing and selecting materials for high-temperature, cryogenic, electromagnetic, or vacuum engineering applications.
- Ability to work with and manage external suppliers and collaborate with multidisciplinary technical teams in fast-paced, dynamic settings.
- Proficiency with programming languages used in science and engineering, particularly Python, is beneficial but not essential.
- Develop innovative solutions and detailed mechanical designs for significant systems within the Alpha stellarator, ensuring integration with broader physics, mechanical, and structural systems.
- Carry out thermal and structural analysis and assessment of mechanical designs, provide design input, and implement recommended design improvements.
- Conduct technology trade-offs, select materials, and perform feasibility studies to support identification of the Alpha net energy stellarator.
- Design, deliver, and support prototyping and verification of the components, materials, assemblies, and manufacturing processes selected for Alpha.
- Work with external suppliers and collaborators to assist and guide the development and manufacture of components and systems for the net energy Alpha stellarator.
- Experience with 3DExperience/CATIA v6 and ANSYS is beneficial but not essential.
- Proficiency with programming languages used in science and engineering, particularly Python, is beneficial but not essential.
About the company
Proxima Fusion designs and builds fusion power plants based on quasi-isodynamic high-temperature-superconductor (QI-HTS) stellarators. Its main project, Alpha, is a net-energy stellarator demonstrator near Munich developed with partners Bavaria, IPP and RWE to test and prove the technology before a commercial Stellaris plant planned for the 2030s. The company leverages its roots as the first Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics spin-out and uses advanced HTS magnets to create steady magnetic confinement for fusion plasma, enabling a scalable path to power generation. Proxima differentiates itself by pursuing a clear commercial roadmap from a world-class research lineage, collaboration with industry and government partners, and a focus on the Stellaris design to move from a demonstrator to a market-ready fusion power plant. The goal is to deliver commercially viable fusion energy, moving from the Alpha demonstrator to fully commercial Stellaris plants in the 2030s.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series B
Total Funding
$651.5M
Headquarters
Munich, Germany
Founded
2023
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- September 2026 MoU with Lower Saxony advances Europe's first large-scale fusion-grade HTS facility.
- The €140 million tape plant secures a critical input for Alpha and Stellaris.
- Proxima's July 2026 financing funds hiring across Munich, Zurich, and Oxford.
What critics are saying
- Alpha must prove net energy around 2031 or Stellaris slips into oblivion.
- Lower Saxony's HTS tape facility needs 2026-2029 milestones before any production starts.
- China and Japan still dominate HTS tape, exposing Proxima to supply shocks.
What makes Proxima Fusion unique
- Proxima's QI-HTS stellarator builds on Wendelstein 7-X science and IPP heritage.
- Google and RWE backed Proxima's €411 million July 2026 round at €2.4 billion.
- The Alpha Alliance now spans more than 50 industrial partners across Europe.
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↑ 0%German fusion startup to build €140M superconducting tape plant. Proxima Fusion plans a €140M plant to make the superconducting tape its reactors depend on. Last updated: September 12, 2026 12:06 am Proxima Fusion will spend €140M ($162.6M) on a factory making fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting tape, the Munich company said, in a push to secure a component almost entirely sourced from Asia. The plan follows the startup's €411M raise earlier this year, which lifted it among Europe's best-funded fusion developers. Lower Saxony is contributing €21M, with the rest drawn from public and private sources. HTS tape generates the powerful magnetic fields that contain plasma inside a reactor. Proxima's demonstration plant will need 20,000 kilometres of the material, and a commercial power plant double that. The vast majority of HTS tape is produced in China and Japan, leaving European reactor designers exposed to supply and trade risk. Proxima argues that owning production gives it control over cost, quality and delivery schedules. The material only became commercially viable in the past ten to fifteen years, and it reshaped reactor economics. Machines that once depended on enormous low-temperature magnets could suddenly be built smaller, because the tape carries current without resistance at higher thermal thresholds. Demand is no longer confined to fusion. Companies such as Veir use the material to raise the power density of data centre connections, putting the technology in competition with the AI infrastructure boom for scarce capacity. Proxima has not said when the plant will start production. If it succeeds, Europe would gain its first domestic source of a material that currently shapes the fortunes of every fusion developer on the continent.
Proxima Fusion bets €140M on a critical fusion ingredient dominated by Asian suppliers. Proxima Fusion said Wednesday it plans to build a €140 million ($162.6 million) factory to produce fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Proxima Fusion is betting on a critical ingredient for its fusion reactors: superconducting tape. Proxima Fusion said Wednesday it plans to build a €140 million ($162.6 million) factory to produce fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape, which will provide the startup with key component to its reactor design. The move comes months after Proxima raised €411 million in a round that catapulted the company up the ranks of the best-funded fusion startups. The Germany-based fusion startup plans to use a mix of public and private funding to complete the factory, with the state of Lower Saxony chipping in €21 million. Proxima will use HTS tape to generate powerful magnetic fields to contain the plasma required to spark fusion reactions. The startup's demonstration plant will use 20,000 kilometers of HTS tape, while its commercial power plant will need twice as much. Today, the vast majority of HTS tape is made in China and Japan. 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 can generate strong magnetic fields at relatively high temperatures, HTS tape enables smaller and more efficient reactor designs. While fusion power is expected to consume a large portion of the world's HTS tape production, other companies like Veir are using it to boost the efficiency and power density of data centers.
Four Swiss start-ups nominated for the Spark Award 2026. 25 August 2026 13:50 Supporting partner. Düsseldorf/Berlin/Munich - Four Swiss companies have been included on the list of ten nominees for the Spark Award: Jua, terralayr, Proxima Fusion and Sphere Energy. This technology award is presented by "Handelsblatt" and McKinsey to start-ups with the potential to fundamentally and sustainably transform markets. (CONNECT) The German business newspaper "Handelsblatt" and the management consulting firm McKinsey have announced the finalists for their Spark Award - The Technology Award 2026. The nominees include Jua.ai from Zurich and the Zug-based terralayr, two start-ups founded in Switzerland in 2022. Moreover, two German companies with key subsidiaries located in Switzerland, namely Proxima Fusion (Munich/Villigen in the canton of Aargau) and Sphere Energy (Grossaitingen/Zurich), are also in the running for the award. This year marks the 11th occasion on which the Spark Award has been presented to exceptional and innovative start-ups from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, whose ideas have the potential to fundamentally and sustainably transform markets. The award ceremony is set to take place in Munich on November 5. Jua.ai is working on the development of a universal simulation engine for the physical world. The start-up already operates a weather forecasting model, which is now being expanded to cover the entire Earth system in order, for example, to model fluid dynamics around vehicles and turbines or to simulate wildfires and floods. Terralayr, headquartered in Zug with an office in Berlin, develops and operates large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). In 2026, the company has managed to secure an investment of 192 million euros. Terralayr is not only the fastest-growing BESS operator in Germany but also makes energy flexibility tradable and scalable through its LAYR platform, which supports grid stability and helps to balance electricity prices. Proxima Fusion is Europe's highest-valued stellarator company and the first spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. In 2026, it successfully secured financing of 411 million euros for the development of fusion power plants that operate on the basis of QI-HTS stellarators. Since 2024, Proxima Fusion has been collaborating with the Paul Scherrer Institute to develop high-temperature superconducting magnet technology for the stellarator at its facility located at Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare (Villigen). Sphere Energy has created an operating system and an associated data platform that uses Artificial Intelligence to make industrial product development almost as fast as software development processes. To this end, the start-up aggregates distributed development data from test facilities or simulations with field data and to provide actionable insights. Also nominated are the Berlin-based start-ups Apheris, deepset and Qdrant, as well as Focused Energy (Darmstadt), Lidrotec (Bochum) and Q.ANT (Stuttgart). ce/mm
Proxima Fusion appoints head of partnerships. Proxima Fusion has appointed Ahmed Diallo as head of global partnerships in Munich, Germany, as it scales its stellarator fusion programme. Diallo brings more than two decades of fusion experience, including work as a research physicist and later as a leader in U.S. federal fusion programmes... Exclusive subscriber content... Not yet a subscriber? Join us today to continue accessing content without any restrictions Or to request access to Proximo Intelligence contact us
Freemelt joins Alpha Alliance to deliver 3D printed tungsten parts for Proxima Fusion's net-energy stellarator. July 16, 2026 We do not usually get to speak twice in the same week about the same company. Yet, here we are, talking about Proxima Fusion, again, the company that claims to be Europe's best-funded fusion company. On the heels of a funding round of more than €650 million ($740 million), including €95 million in public grants, the developer of next-generation stellarators for commercial fusion energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Freemelt, a manufacturer and supplier of Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (E-PBF) 3D printers. Through the agreement, Freemelt becomes a member of the Alpha Alliance, a collaboration between industrial companies and research institutes working on the development of Alpha, a stellarator-based fusion demonstrator. "Fusion is a strategic focus area for Freemelt, and we are pleased to join the Alpha Alliance together with Proxima Fusion and the other partners. This collaboration further validates Freemelt's position within the fusion ecosystem and provides an opportunity to contribute our expertise in tungsten manufacturing to one of Europe's most ambitious fusion programmes," says Daniel Gidlund, CEO of Freemelt. Proxima Fusion focuses on developing stellarator technology for safe, sustainable and cost-effective fusion energy. The company's Alpha programme aims to demonstrate net energy production in a stellarator capable of steady-state operation, representing an important step towards commercial fusion power. The collaboration is expected to progress through successive development phases, including design studies, prototyping, testing and future industrialization activities. The MoU provides a framework for cooperation, and the parties intend to establish specific agreements for future projects and deliveries. "We are pleased to welcome Freemelt to the Alpha Alliance. Freemelt's expertise in additive manufacturing and tungsten components will be an important contribution to the development of Alpha and our shared ambition to accelerate the path towards commercial fusion energy," says Lucio Milanese, co-founder and Chief External Affairs Officer at Proxima Fusion.