Munich-based Proxima Fusion signed memoranda of understanding with Japanese industrial partners Fujikura and Kyoto Fusioneering on Oct. 28. The agreements aim to support Proxima's development of a commercial fusion power plant using magnetic technology called a stellarator.
Proxima will partner with Kyoto Fusioneering to expand work on gyrotrons, devices that generate high-power microwaves to heat plasma. Fujikura, a 141-year-old company with over 50,000 employees, will explore industrial-scale manufacturing in Germany of high-temperature superconducting tape. This specialized tape carries electrical current with virtually no resistive losses and winds into coils to form magnets that confine the heated plasma inside the stellarator.
Proxima CEO Francesco Sciortino told CNBC the company plans to produce around 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) of tape annually by 2030. A planned 140 million euro ($160 million) manufacturing facility in Lower Saxony would be financed partly by proceeds from a $468 million funding round in July that valued Proxima at $2.7 billion.
Proxima expects to need approximately 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of tape for its "Alpha" fusion demonstrator and a further 40,000 kilometers (24,900 miles) for its planned "Stellaris" fusion power station. Sciortino said establishing tape production in Germany would help Europe build the expertise and supply chains needed for industrial fusion capability.
Sciortino said he remains confident Proxima will be the first company to turn on a pilot plant and aims for net energy gain during the early 2030s. He stressed that simplicity in plant operation would be key to profitability.