Proxima Fusion Plans €140 Million Plant to Secure Critical Superconducting Tape Supply

German fusion energy startup Proxima Fusion announced Wednesday that it intends to construct a €140 million ($162.6 million) manufacturing facility dedicated to producing high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape. The project aims to secure a domestic supply of the crucial hardware component needed to generate the extreme magnetic fields required for nuclear fusion reactors.

The manufacturing plant will be financed through a combination of private investment capital and public subsidies, according to reporting first published by TechCrunch. As part of the government backing, the state of Lower Saxony in Northwestern Germany has committed €21 million in public funding to support the facility's development.

HTS tape plays a central role in magnetic confinement fusion technologies. When energized, the material produces high-intensity magnetic fields capable of trapping and containing superheated plasma, creating the conditions necessary to spark sustained fusion reactions. Over the past decade, advancements in HTS material science have enabled fusion developers to design significantly smaller and more energy-efficient reactor architectures.

By building its own production capability, Proxima Fusion seeks to mitigate supply chain risks inherent to the current global market. At present, the vast majority of commercial high-temperature superconducting tape manufacturing is concentrated in Asia, primarily within China and Japan. Internalizing production ensures the enterprise can maintain direct oversight of component quality and delivery timelines.

The volume of material required for fusion deployment is substantial. Proxima Fusion estimates that its planned demonstration facility will consume approximately 20,000 kilometers of HTS tape during construction. The company’s subsequent commercial power plant is projected to require double that amount, reaching 40,000 kilometers of the specialized tape.

The capital deployment follows a major financing milestone for the European startup. Months prior to the factory announcement, Proxima Fusion raised €411 million in a funding round that positioned the enterprise among the world's most heavily funded fusion companies, providing the balance sheet necessary to support capital-intensive industrial infrastructure projects.

While nuclear energy development is anticipated to absorb a significant share of global HTS tape production, the specialized material is also attracting interest across other technology sectors. Companies such as grid-infrastructure developer Veir have begun utilizing HTS tape to improve power density and electrical transmission efficiency within data centers supporting energy-heavy workload requirements.