Proxima Fusion Signs an MoU for a €140 Million HTS Tape Plant in Lower Saxony
Proxima Fusion, the German stellarator developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the German state of Lower Saxony to build what it calls Europe’s first large-scale fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape facility. The first two phases are costed at €140 million (US$162.6 million) and run to the end of 2029. This is a plan and a memorandum, not a construction start or a final investment decision.
Lower Saxony’s €21 million covers only part of the money required
The state is contributing €21 million. The remainder is intended to split about evenly between private capital and public funding, with the state’s share amounting to roughly 30% of the public contribution. No site within Lower Saxony has been identified, no construction date has been given, and no capacity figure for the planned plant has been published.
The stated reason for building in Europe is where the tape is made now
By Proxima’s own account the project answers a concentration problem: the vast majority of HTS tape is made in China and Japan. Chief executive Francesco Sciortino said that “HTS tape is one of the critical technologies needed to scale fusion rapidly at an industrial level”. Proxima would be entering tape manufacturing from the buyer’s side, which is a different proposition from an existing producer adding lines.
Alpha needs 20,000 km of tape and a power plant needs 40,000 km
Proxima’s demonstration plant requires 20,000 km of HTS tape, and a commercial power plant 40,000 km. That tape is destined for the Alpha demonstrator and the Stellaris power plant planned for the former Gundremmingen nuclear site. For scale, Shanghai Superconductor said in August 2026 that its third expansion will take annual capacity to 20,000 km of 12 mm-wide tape. The two numbers are alike by coincidence: one is the total length a single machine needs, at widths Proxima has not stated, and the other is one producer’s output in a year at a stated width.
A well-funded buyer moving upstream changes the European supply picture
Proxima’s demonstration magnet tape comes from outside Europe. In June 2025 Faraday Factory Japan agreed to supply HTS tape for the company’s demonstration stellarator magnet. Europe’s own producers are working with far smaller sums: THEVA, at Ismaning, was acquired by Subra in April 2026, and Subra closed a €50 million Series A in July 2026. Proxima closed a €411 million funding round earlier in 2026, making it one of the best-funded fusion startups.
Who would actually run the line remains open. Proxima says it is in discussions with several international technology partners about bringing established HTS manufacturing expertise and production capabilities to Lower Saxony, and no manufacturer has been named. For readers following where the tape goes, the signal is that a customer with this much capital is willing to fund supply itself rather than wait for it. Until a site, a partner and a capacity figure are confirmed, it stays a memorandum.