Achieving stable fusion reactions is one thing. Bringing the technology to commercial markets is another challenge—and the race is set to get even hotter, as Germany has entered the scene.

Recently press releaseThe Munich-based company Proxima Fusion has announced that it will collaborate with the Free State of Bavaria, the energy company RWE, and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) to bring an operational fusion plant to the European grid in the 2030s. If things go as planned, the power plant, Stellaris, will be the first of its kind to generate net energy income for commercial and research purposes.

“Nuclear fusion represents a completely new technology capable of delivering baseload, carbon dioxide-free, clean electricity in almost unlimited quantities,” Markus Söder, Minister-President of Bavaria, said in the release. “It has the potential to meet the exponential growth in electricity demand driven by electric mobility, AI, and data centers.”

A big “if” with big rewards

Nuclear fusion fuses two light particles together to generate large amounts of energy. All commercial nuclear plants currently run on nuclear fission, which splits heavy atoms to produce energy. Compared to fission, fusion does not produce greenhouse gases or long-lived radioactive waste, making it the ultimate goal for sustainable nuclear power. Progress in bringing fusion plants into practical use has been steady but slow.

Germany is not the first to pursue commercial fusion plants. In the United States, several private companies have expressed interest in building commercial fusion plants. For example, Helion is looking to complete a fusion plant to use the Microsoft buildings as early as 2028while Type One Energy has Associate partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Laboratory for its project. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has too clearly stated it aims to bring fusion power to commercial grids by the mid-2030s.

In that sense, the new Proxima contract—which involves the interests of the government, the country’s most famous research institute, and large private companies—shows Germany’s great interest in staying ahead of the competition. Or at least, to keep up.

“Scientific achievements in recent years have paved the way for this unique public-private partnership that represents tangible progress along the roadmap of a fusion power plant,” said IPP director Sibylle Günter.

Progress so far

The pending reactor is a stellarator called Alpha. Stellarators confine the plasma used for fusion reactions inside a donut-shaped torus, then subject the device to a strong electromagnetic field. Compared to tokamaksstellarators are trickier to design but make other aspects simpler in terms of plasma management, according to DOE.

Proxima said it will first install an Alpha demonstration stellarator in Garching, a region north of Munich. The larger plant, Stellaris, is slated to be located further south, in Gundremmingen. RWE is cleaning up the site, which was once home to a decommissioned fission plant, according to the statement.

Proxima added that around 20% of the project costs will come from private, international investors. The project has yet to receive funding from federal government initiatives.

“Courage and momentum are essential in developing future technologies and moving them from science to commercial application,” Söder said. “Only through decisive investment in technology can we ensure our future prosperity.”