Villigen, 01. July 2024

On 28 June 2024, Proxima Fusion and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI signed a framework agreement to advance the development of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology, with applications for both fusion energy and particle physics research. Munich-based Proxima Fusion is the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), building on decades of groundbreaking fusion research.

This new long-term collaboration will begin with several members of the Proxima Fusion team relocating from Munich to Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare in Villigen, thus becoming immediate neighbours of PSI. They will be supported by Proxima Co-Founder and Head of Engineering Martin Kubie and work closely with PSI scientists and engineers. Significant investments by Proxima in Switzerland are envisioned in both personnel and hardware development.

Park Innovaare becoming a Fusion Power Cluster

Munich-based Proxima Fusion is the second company from the fusion energy sector to become a resident at Park Innovaare. Renaissance Fusion, a French start-up, has been a tenant at Park Innovaare since October 2023. Renaissance Fusion set itself the task of bringing fusion energy to the grid by combining the proven Stellarator fusion apparatus with its proprietary manufacturing technology for high-temperature superconducting magnets and liquid metal shielding.

About Proxima Fusion

Proxima Fusion spun out of the Max Planck IPP in 2023 and has raised a total of €27.5M (approximately $30M) in funding to work toward the first generation of fusion power plants using quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators. QI stellarators are the clearest, most robust path to commercial fusion power, and Proxima’s simulation-focused approach leverages advanced computing to build on the ground-breaking results of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment, the world's most advanced stellarator at the Max Planck IPP. The development of stellarator magnets based on HTS magnets is a critical milestone for Proxima Fusion—one that the team looks forward to tackling with its PSI collaborators.

About Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare

Park Innovaare connects technology-oriented start-ups, SMEs and R&D departments of established companies with the cutting-edge research of our strategic partners—the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW—and offers 23’000 m2 state-of-the-art laboratory and office space. Park Innovaare is one of six sites within the Switzerland Innovation network.