Google backs European fusion power with Proxima investment

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Google invests in Proxima

Highlights

Google joined Proxima Fusion’s €411 million funding round.
The round values the German startup at about $2.7 billion.
Proxima is developing stellarator technology for fusion power.

The funding round valued Proxima at about $2.7 billion, CNBC reported. The round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, while RWE and Google joined as strategic investors. Other participants included Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, and Cherry Ventures.

Google adds to its fusion bets

Proxima is developing stellarator fusion technology, an approach that uses complex magnetic fields to contain extremely hot plasma. Fusion combines hydrogen atoms to form helium, releasing large amounts of energy. Unlike today’s nuclear power plants, which use fission to split atoms, fusion has not yet been deployed commercially.

Google’s participation reflects the growing interest of large technology companies in future power supplies. Data centers used for artificial intelligence and cloud computing require large and steady amounts of electricity, and fusion is seen by backers as a possible long-term source of carbon-free power. Google has also backed U.S.-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems and signed an offtake agreement with the company for future electricity from its first commercial plant.

Proxima’s new funding will be used to expand high-temperature superconducting cable and magnet production, as well as the engineering and manufacturing systems needed for stellarators. The Munich-based company plans to bring a fusion demonstrator online in the early 2030s, with a commercial power plant targeted for later in the decade.

Europe tries to close the gap

Proxima is already one of Europe’s best-funded fusion startups, but U.S. companies remain ahead in total capital raised. Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised billions of dollars, while Helion Energy, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has also attracted major funding. The gap has put pressure on European governments and investors to support domestic fusion companies before the industry’s center of gravity shifts further to the United States or China.

Proxima was spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in 2023 and is building on European research in stellarator design. The company has also signed an agreement with Bavaria, RWE, and the Max Planck Institute to develop a path toward a commercial stellarator power plant in Europe.

Germany and Bavaria are becoming central to that plan. Proxima is expected to build a demonstrator called Alpha near Munich, while a commercial plant is planned for Gundremmingen later in the 2030s. The project has also been linked to state support, including up to €400 million from Bavaria.

Fusion becomes a power strategy

The deal matters because fusion is no longer only a scientific bet. It is becoming part of the energy strategy for technology companies facing rapid growth in electricity demand.

For Google, the Proxima investment adds another option in a field where success remains uncertain, but the potential payoff is large. For Europe, the financing supports an effort to keep advanced energy technology on the continent. Proxima still has to prove that its system can work at commercial scale, but the size of the round shows that investors are increasingly willing to fund fusion before the technology reaches the grid.

We also reported Google loses final EU appeal over Android antitrust fine.

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