Proxima Fusion Plans €140M HTS Tape Factory to Strengthen European Fusion Supply

Proxima Fusion plans to build a €140 million factory in Germany to produce high-temperature superconducting tape, a critical material used in the powerful magnets needed for fusion reactors.

The project would give the startup greater control over a component now produced mainly in China and Japan. Proxima plans to finance the facility through a mix of public and private funding, including €21 million from Lower Saxony.

HTS tape is central to Proxima’s reactor design

HTS tape can generate strong magnetic fields at relatively high temperatures, helping fusion companies build smaller and more efficient reactor systems.

Proxima expects its demonstration plant to require about 20,000 kilometres of HTS tape, while a commercial plant would need roughly twice as much. That makes supply security increasingly important as the company scales.

The factory plan follows Proxima’s recent €411 million funding round, which made it one of Europe’s better-funded fusion startups.

Demand for HTS tape is also growing beyond fusion. The material is being explored for higher-density power infrastructure, including data centre systems

For Proxima, producing HTS tape in Germany would reduce reliance on Asian suppliers while securing a key input for future demonstration and commercial fusion plants.