Proxima Fusion Wins 2026 German Founder Prize

Proxima Fusion has won the 2026 German Founder Prize in the startup category.

Munich Startup reported that the company beat other nominees AdaptX Systems and Flybaby to secure the award on September 8. Founded in 2023 and originating from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, the deeptech firm focuses on developing stellarator fusion power plants to create a carbon-free energy source for base load power.

The company utilizes stellarators to confine extremely hot plasma using complex magnetic fields. This approach builds on research from the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. Proxima Fusion intends to advance this technology toward a commercial power plant using high-temperature superconductors, new engineering methods, and computer simulations.

In July 2026, the company announced a funding round of 411 million EUR, which the firm stated increased its valuation to 2.4 billion EUR. This round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with strategic investments from Google and RWE. This is described by the company as the largest private investment in a European fusion company to date. Previously, the firm completed a Series A round of 130 million EUR in 2025, which was expanded to a total of 200 million EUR in private and public funds by September 2025.

Proxima Fusion is currently planning a demonstration stellarator called Alpha in Garching to validate technologies for a future commercial plant. To support this, the company has formed an industrial alliance with over 30 companies and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics to prove that necessary materials and systems can be implemented industrially.

Further cooperation for a commercial stellarator fusion power plant was agreed upon in February 2026 between Proxima Fusion, RWE, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, and the Free State of Bavaria. While Alpha is planned for Garching, the subsequent power plant project, Stellaris, is intended for the Gundremmingen site.