Latest news with #Wendelstein7-X
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German fusion energy firm Proxima Fusion secures $150m financing
European fusion energy company Proxima Fusion has closed a €130m ($150m) Series A financing round, bringing its total funding to more than €185m in private and public capital. The Series A round, the largest private fusion investment in Europe to date, was jointly led by Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital, with substantial contributions from a consortium of investors including UVC Partners, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, Elaia Partners, Visionaries Tomorrow and redalpine. redalpine led Proxima Fusion's seed round in 2024, just one year earlier. Proxima Fusion CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino stated: "Fusion has become a real, strategic opportunity to shift global energy dependence from natural resources to technological leadership. Proxima is perfectly positioned to harness that momentum by uniting a spectacular engineering and manufacturing team with world-leading research institutions, accelerating the path toward bringing the first European fusion power plant online in the next decade." This influx of capital bolsters Proxima's mission to pioneer commercial fusion energy, a move supported by the European Union and national governments including Germany, the UK, France and Italy, who view fusion as critical for achieving energy independence and sustainable economic growth. Cherry Ventures founding partner Filip Dames stated: 'We back founders solving humanity's hardest problems — and few are bigger than clean, limitless energy." "Proxima Fusion combines Europe's scientific edge with commercial ambition, turning world-class research into one of the most promising fusion ventures globally. This is deep tech at its best, and a bold signal that Europe can lead on the world stage.' Established in April 2023 as a spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Proxima Fusion maintains a strong public-private partnership with IPP. The company's approach to engineering is driven by simulations, utilising advanced computing and high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technologies. These strategies build upon the IPP's Wendelstein 7-X stellarator experiment's results. In early 2025 Proxima Fusion, alongside IPP, KIT and other partners, unveiled Stellaris — a stellarator concept that integrates physics, engineering and maintenance. The fresh investment will enable Proxima Fusion to complete its Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) by 2027, a crucial step in validating HTS technology for stellarators and promoting European HTS innovation. The company is finalising the location for Alpha, its demonstration stellarator, and is in discussions with several European governments. Alpha, expected to commence operations in 2031, will be pivotal for demonstrating net energy gain (Q>1) and advancing towards the first-of-its-kind fusion power plant. Proxima Fusion is also expanding its team, which currently exceeds 80 members, across three locations: its Munich headquarters, the Paul Scherrer Institute near Zurich and the Culham fusion campus near Oxford. "German fusion energy firm Proxima Fusion secures $150m financing" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Business Wire
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Proxima Fusion Raises €130M Series A to Build World's First Stellarator-Based Fusion Power Plant in the 2030S
MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Proxima Fusion, Europe's fastest-growing fusion energy company, today announced the close of its €130 million ($150 million) Series A financing — the largest private fusion investment round in Europe. The Series A financing was co-led by Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital. Significant participation also came from UVC Partners, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), Plural, Leitmotif, Lightspeed, Bayern Kapital, HTGF, Club degli Investitori, Omnes Capital, Elaia Partners, Visionaries Tomorrow, Wilbe and redalpine, the latter of which led Proxima Fusion's seed round just one year ago. This brings Proxima Fusion's total funding to more than €185 million ($200 million) in private and public capital, accelerating its mission to build the world's first commercial fusion power plant based on a stellarator design. Francesco Sciortino, CEO and Co-founder of Proxima Fusion, said: "Fusion has become a real, strategic opportunity to shift global energy dependence from natural resources to technological leadership. Proxima is perfectly positioned to harness that momentum by uniting a spectacular engineering and manufacturing team with world-leading research institutions, accelerating the path toward bringing the first European fusion power plant online in the next decade." Shifting global energy dependence Proxima was founded in April 2023 as a spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), with which it continues to work closely in a public-private partnership to lead Europe into a new era of clean energy. The EU, as well as national governments including Germany, UK, France and Italy, increasingly recognize fusion as a generational technology essential for energy sovereignty, industrial competitiveness, and carbon-neutral economic growth. By building on Europe's long-standing public fusion investment and industrial supply chains, Proxima Fusion is laying the groundwork for a new high-tech energy industry—one that transforms the continent from a leader in fusion research to a global powerhouse in fusion deployment. 'We back founders solving humanity's hardest problems — and few are bigger than clean, limitless energy," said Filip Dames, Cherry Ventures Founding Partner."Proxima Fusion combines Europe's scientific edge with commercial ambition, turning world-class research into one of the most promising fusion ventures globally. This is deep tech at its best, and a bold signal that Europe can lead on the world stage.' Proxima is taking a simulation-driven approach to engineering that leverages advanced computing and high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technology to build on the groundbreaking results of the IPP's Wendelstein 7-X stellarator experiment. Just earlier this year, together with the IPP, KIT and other partners, Proxima unveiled Stellaris. As the first peer-reviewed stellarator concept to integrate physics, engineering, and maintenance considerations from the outset, Stellaris has been widely recognized as a major breakthrough for the fusion industry, advancing the case for quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators as the most promising pathway to a commercial fusion power plant. Daniel Waterhouse, Partner at Balderton Capital, said:"Stellarators aren't just the most technologically viable approach to fusion energy—they're the power plants of the future, capable of leading Europe into a new era of clean energy. Proxima has firmly secured its position as the leading European contender in the global race to commercial fusion. We are thrilled to partner with Proxima's game-changing team of engineers, alongside Europe's top manufacturers, to build a company that will be transformational for Europe." With this new funding, the company will complete its Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) in 2027, a major hardware demonstration that will de-risk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology for stellarators and stimulate European HTS innovation. Proxima will also finalize a site for Alpha, its demonstration stellarator, for which it is in talks with several European governments already. Alpha is scheduled to begin operations in 2031, and is the key step to demonstrating Q>1 (net energy gain) and moving towards a first-of-a-kind fusion power plant. The company will continue to grow its 80+-strong team across three offices: at the headquarters in Munich, at the Paul Scherrer Institute near Zurich (Switzerland), and at the Culham fusion campus near Oxford (UK). ' Fusion energy is entering a new era—moving from lab-based science to industrial-scale engineering, ' said Dr. Francesco Sciortino. 'This investment validates our approach and gives us the resources to deliver hardware that is essential to make clean fusion power a reality.' Ian Hogarth, Partner at Plural said: 'Proxima Fusion exemplifies a new kind of European ambition - a full force effort to develop the world's first fusion power plant. Since their first round of funding two years ago, Francesco and the team have hit extremely challenging milestones ahead of schedule and hired a team that spans plasma physics, advanced magnet design and computer simulation. Their peer-reviewed stellarator power plant design concept confirms that fusion really can be commercially viable, and creates an opportunity for Europe to be first to the target.' About Proxima Fusion Proxima Fusion spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in 2023 to build fusion power plants using QI-HTS stellarators. Proxima has since assembled a world-class team of engineers, scientists and operators from leading companies and institutions, such as the IPP, MIT, Harvard, SpaceX, Tesla, and McLaren. By taking a simulation-driven approach to engineering that leverages advanced computing and high-temperature superconductors to build on the groundbreaking results of the IPP's W7-X stellarator, Proxima is leading Europe into a new era of clean energy, for good.
NDTV
07-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Smash Nuclear Fusion Record, Igniting Hope For Limitless Clean Energy
Scientists in Germany have taken a giant leap towards producing near-limitless, clean energy using nuclear fusion -- the same fiery reaction that takes place in the core of the Sun. Using the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion reactor, the researchers managed to sustain the fusion experiment for an impressive 43 seconds, smashing the previous records, according to a report in LiveScience. Developing nuclear fusion for energy requirements has long been a goal of scientists but reaching temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius and sustaining its long-term operation has always proved a challenge. Moreover, current reactor concepts consume more energy than they are able to produce. However, using the machine with extremely low-density and electrically charged hydrogen gas as fuel, scientists managed to achieve the breakthrough. Wendelstein 7-X, officially called a 'stellarator', is a type of fusion device that confines hot, charged gas, known as plasma, with powerful external magnets controlling it. On May 22, plasma inside Wendelstein 7-X was raised to over 20 million Celsius, reaching a peak of 30 million Celsius. It also reached a new record high triple product, a key metric for the success of fusion power generators. The triple product is a combination of the density of particles in the plasma, the temperature required for these particles to fuse, and the energy confinement time. "The new record is a tremendous achievement by the international team. Elevating the triple product to tokamak levels during long plasma pulses marks another important milestone on the way toward a power-plant-capable stellarator," said Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X. Notably, the highest values for the triple product were achieved by the Japanese Tokamak JT60U (decommissioned in 2008) and the European Tokamak facility JET in Great Britain (decommissioned in 2023). Holy grail Scientists regard nuclear fusion as the holy grail of energy. It is what powers our Sun as atomic nuclei are merged to create massive amounts of energy, which is the opposite of the fission process used in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants, where the heavy atom is split into multiple smaller ones. Last year, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion energy reactor, dubbed China's 'artificial sun', sustained plasma for a whopping 1,000 seconds, breaking the 403-second record it set in 2023. Unlike fission, fusion emits no greenhouse gases and carries less risk of accidents or the theft of atomic material. By mimicking the natural reaction of the sun, scientists are hoping that the technology may help harness near-unlimited amounts of energy and help battle the energy crisis, as well as power humanity's exploration beyond the solar system
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Nuclear fusion record smashed as German scientists take 'a significant step forward' to near-limitless clean energy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A recently concluded experimental campaign at the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany has smashed previous fusion records and set a new benchmark for reactor performances. Nuclear fusion offers a tantalizing promise of unlimited clean energy. By smashing together isotopes (or different versions) of hydrogen at incredibly high temperatures, the resulting superheated plasma of electrons and ions fuses into heavier atoms, releasing a phenomenal amount of energy in the process. However, while this fusion reaction is self-sustaining under the extraordinary temperatures and pressures within stars, recreating these conditions on Earth is a huge technical challenge — and current reactor concepts still consume more energy than they are able to produce. Stellarators are one of the most promising reactor designs, so named for their mimicry of reactions in the sun. They use powerful external magnets to control the high-energy plasma within a ring-shaped vacuum chamber and maintain a stable, high pressure. Unlike simpler tokamak reactors — which pass a high current through the plasma to generate the required magnetic field — stellarators' external magnets are better at stabilizing the plasma through the fusion reactions, a feature that will ultimately be necessary when translating the technology to commercial power plants. In the recent experiments, the W7-X stellarator outperformed previous benchmarks set by the decommissioned tokamak reactors JT60U in Japan and JET in the UK, especially over how long the plasma can be sustained. Related: Nuclear fusion could be the clean energy of the future Most notably, the international team revealed that the reactor had reached a new record high triple product — a key metric for the success of fusion power generators. The triple product is a combination of the density of particles in the plasma, the temperature required for these particles to fuse, and the energy confinement time (a measure of how well the thermal energy is held by the system). A certain minimum value called the Lawson criterion marks the point at which the reaction produces more energy than it uses and becomes self-sustaining, so a higher triple product indicates a more efficient reaction. "The new record is a tremendous achievement by the international team," said Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X and Head of Stellarator Dynamics and Transport at IPP in a statement. "Elevating the triple product to tokamak levels during long plasma pulses marks another important milestone on the way toward a power-plant-capable stellarator." Key to the success of this latest milestone was the development of a new fuel pellet injector that combined continuous refueling of the reactor with pulsed heating to maintain the required plasma temperature. Over a 43-second period, 90 frozen hydrogen pellets were fired into the plasma at up to 2,600 feet (800 metres) per second, roughly the speed of a bullet. Pre-programmed pulses of powerful microwaves heated the plasma, which reached a peak temperature of 30 million degrees C, and this coordination between the microwave pulses and the pellet injection crucially extended how long the plasma could be stably maintained. RELATED STORIES —Physicists solve nuclear fusion mystery with mayonnaise —There's 90,000 tons of nuclear waste in the US. How and where is it stored? —Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth's surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find This same campaign also increased the energy turnover of the reaction to 1.8 gigajoules over a six-minute run, smashing the reactor's previous record of 1.3 gigajoules from February 2023. Energy turnover is a combination of the heating power and plasma duration of a fusion reactor and an indication of the reactor's ability to sustain the high-energy plasma. It is therefore another crucial parameter for future power plant operation. The new value even exceeds the record achieved by the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in China earlier this year, further evidencing stellarators' potential. "The records of this experimental campaign are much more than mere numbers. They represent a significant step forward in validating the stellarator concept—made possible through outstanding international collaboration," summarized Robert Wolf, Head of Stellarator Heating and Optimization at IPP in statement.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cutting-edge energy company makes major breakthrough in replicating the process that powers the sun: 'Setting the gold standard'
Type One Energy has achieved a major breakthrough in fusion energy research, publishing new research for a practical fusion pilot power plant in the Journal of Plasma Physics by Cambridge University Press. The articles could be a significant step toward making fusion power a commercial reality that could transform our energy landscape with clean, abundant electricity. Fusion energy replicates the same process that powers the sun: combining hydrogen atoms under extreme heat and pressure to release enormous amounts of energy. Unlike traditional power plants, fusion produces zero greenhouse gas pollution and minimal radioactive waste, offering a potentially limitless source of clean energy using hydrogen isotopes that are abundant on Earth. The breakthrough comes from years of collaborative research between Type One Energy and scientists from national laboratories and universities worldwide. The company's "Infinity Two" design uses stellarator technology — a machine that creates complex, helical magnetic fields to control superheated plasma where fusion occurs. Their research builds on successes from Germany's Wendelstein 7-X research stellarator but also tackles the challenge of scaling the technology to a commercial power plant. "The physics basis for our new fusion power plant is grounded in Type One Energy's expert knowledge about reliable, economic, electrical generation for the power grid," Type One Energy CEO Christofer Mowry explained. "We have an organization that understands this isn't only about designing a science project." "Fusion science and technology are experiencing a period of very rapid development, driven by both public and private enthusiasm for fusion power," added Alex Schekochihin, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford. "In this environment of creative and entrepreneurial ferment, it is crucial that new ideas and designs are both publicly shared and thoroughly scrutinised by the scientific community — Type One Energy and [the Journal of Plasma Physics] are setting the gold standard for how this is done." Fusion plants would require minimal fuel inputs while generating massive amounts of power, allowing cities to potentially slash their energy budgets while reducing air pollution, which causes respiratory illnesses. The company is already working with the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop its first fusion power plant project. Type One Energy's research marks an important milestone, but commercial fusion power plants are still years away. Industry experts estimate the first commercial plants might begin operation around the 2030s, with wider adoption in the following decades. While fusion represents the next potential generation of clean energy, you can still reduce your overall energy costs through existing options such as installing solar panels or joining community solar projects. Should we be digging into the ground to find new energy sources? Definitely No way As long as it's not near me As long as it's clean energy Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
