Proxima Fusion, a two-year-old nuclear fusion startup from Germany, has shared its plans for a working fusion power plant in a peer-reviewed journal, marking a significant step forward in the race to create limitless energy.
Unlike current nuclear fission reactors, which produce radioactive waste, nuclear fusion generates huge amounts of energy with zero carbon emissions and only minimal radiation. Fusion reactors, like tokamaks and stellarators, use magnets to contain fusion plasma. Tokamaks rely on external magnets and a plasma current, but they are often unstable. Stellarators, on the other hand, use only external magnets, which should, in theory, allow for better stability and continuous operation.
Dr. Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, claims that Proxima’s ‘Stellaris’ design is the first fusion power plant concept to show that it can operate continuously and reliably, without the instabilities seen in tokamaks and other methods. Published in the journal ‘Fusion Engineering and Design’, Proxima chose to share its research publicly to support open-source science.
Dr. Sciortino emphasized: “Our American and Chinese colleagues can see this. We believe we can execute faster than anyone else, thanks to our approach that combines physics, engineering, and economics. We’re not just a science project anymore.”
Proxima Fusion started with a goal to create the Stellaris design in two years, but they completed it in just one year, accelerating their progress. Founded two years ago, Proxima has raised $35 million from the European Union and the German government, along with an additional $30 million from venture capital. The company’s goal is to have a fully functional fusion reactor by 2031.
Proxima’s main competitors include Commonwealth Fusion Systems, supported by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Ian Hogarth, a partner at Plural, one of Proxima’s early investors, said: “When Proxima started, the founders said, ‘We can do this, and we’ll prove it to you.’ And they have. Stellaris is now seen as one of the leading technologies in the global race to commercial fusion.”
