Nuclear fusion has always been the holy grail of energy—clean, limitless, and just out of reach.
Startups have taken up the challenge, but most are still stuck in research mode, with viable power plants feeling like a far-off dream.
Then there's Proxima Fusion, a German startup that just dropped a peer-reviewed design for a working fusion power plant and claims it’s ready to execute rather than just experiment.
For a two-year-old company, that’s a bold claim.
What’s Different About Proxima’s Approach?
Most fusion research has been split between two main reactor designs:
Tokamaks (think ITER) rely on powerful external magnets and an induced plasma current but struggle with stability.
Stellarators use only external magnets, making them more stable but historically complex to design and build.
Proxima's "Stellaris" design takes the stellarator concept and claims to solve its key weaknesses, offering a continuously operating, disruption-free fusion reactor.
Unlike most startups in this space, Proxima isn’t just publishing academic papers—it’s positioning itself as a company that builds rather than just theorizes.
Open-Source Fusion?
What’s particularly interesting is that Proxima is sharing its research openly, publishing in Fusion Engineering and Design rather than keeping everything locked behind NDAs and patents.
Their thinking?
"Our American friends can see it. Our Chinese friends can see it. Our claim is that we can execute on this faster than anyone else.”
It’s an aggressive play—confidence in execution over secrecy. Essentially, they’re betting that they can move faster than others who might copy their work.
This is the kind of thinking that makes or breaks startups in highly technical fields.
Money, Speed, and the Race to Commercial Fusion
With $35 million from the EU and German government and another $30 million in VC funding, Proxima isn’t just running on fumes. They aim to have a working reactor by 2031, which, by fusion startup standards, is soon.
Compare that to Commonwealth Fusion Systems (another major player backed by Bill Gates), and Proxima's approach feels leaner and more aggressive.
Many fusion startups talk about decades-long roadmaps; Proxima seems to be in a hurry.
This isn’t the first time a fusion startup has made big promises. The history of nuclear fusion is littered with missed deadlines and oversold breakthroughs.
The real test will be whether Proxima can keep accelerating—right now, they’ve cut their own timeline down from two years to one for their reactor design.
If they can keep that pace, they might just prove they’re more than another promising startup in a field full of them.
Fusion has always been the big energy promise that’s just around the corner. If Proxima’s bet pays off, we might finally turn that corner.
If not, well—it won’t be the first time a fusion startup made headlines and then quietly faded away.
