Proxima Fusion, a Munich-based fusion startup spun out of the Max Planck Institute, secured €411m in a Series B round led by Google. The round values Proxima at €1.2bn, a 3x jump from its 2023 Series A. Google’s investment arm, CapitalG, joined existing backers like Lowercarbon Capital and Union Square Ventures. Proxima’s stellarator design, a twist on traditional tokamaks, promises higher stability and lower plasma turbulence. The company aims for a net-energy-positive prototype by 2030, with commercial reactors targeted for the 2040s. Germany’s federal government has already earmarked €1bn for fusion R&D by 2028, with Proxima a likely beneficiary.

This is Europe’s moment to own the fusion narrative. While the US splurges on ITER and Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Proxima’s stellarator—backed by Google’s balance sheet—offers a technically differentiated path. The EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan allocates €250bn to clean tech by 2030, but private capital like this is the real validator. Fusion is no longer a moonshot; it’s a portfolio play. Google’s entry signals Big Tech’s pivot fromsoftware-defined energy (see DeepMind’s AI for grids) to hardware-defined disruption. This round also crowns Munich as Europe’s fusion capital, outshining Oxford’s First Light and Switzerland’s DeepMind-backed Helion competitors.

Proxima wins with validation and capital to outrun rivals. Google wins with a strategic foothold in Europe’s energy stack and a hedge against its own data center power demands. Losers include US fusion startups now facing a capital flight risk as European sovereign wealth and corporate backers circle. Traditional energy incumbents like Siemens Energy, already reeling from grid instability costs, lose leverage in the long-term power mix.

Watch for Proxima’s 2026 milestone: a 100M Kelvin plasma sustain test. If achieved, expect a €2bn+ Series C with sovereign wealth funds from Norway and the UAE. Google’s next move may be to integrate Proxima’s IP with its AI-driven grid optimization, creating a vertically integrated energy stack. Meanwhile, Brussels will likely fast-track fusion into its Critical Raw Materials Act, treating plasma as a strategic resource.