Proxima signs MOU with Lower Saxony for HTS tape production

Proxima Fusion has signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of Lower Saxony in Germany to "lay the foundations for large-scale industrial production of high-temperature superconducting tape" in the region, the company announced.

According to the announcement, the first two phases of the project, which will run until the end of 2029, will require a €140 million (approximately $162.3 million) investment, which is expected to be split equally between public and private funding. Lower Saxony has committed €21 million (approximately $24.3 million).

Critical technology: Advances in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets have enabled significant leaps in the designs of fusion machines using magnetic confinement, including Proxima's concept of choice, the stellarator, by providing much higher magnetic fields than low-temperature superconducting magnets, which in turn allows for a smaller machine.

The key to HTS magnets is the specialized metallic tape that can carry electrical currents with virtually no resistive loss when it's at the temperature where it becomes superconducting. The tape can be wound into coils to create powerful and compact electromagnets.

The technology is still fairly new. The first HTS material was discovered in 1986, the world's first HTS cable was energized in 2000, and rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) was developed in 2009. REBCO is widely considered a prime candidate for use in fusion HTS magnets. Proxima has not specified what materials the new facility will use for its HTS tape.

With an increasing number of fusion companies in play, HTS tape is currently a key supply constraint. Proxima signed a contract with Faraday Factory Japan for the supply of HTS tape in 2025, but between its demonstrator (Alpha) and power plant (Stellaris) designs, Proxima's current plans require around 60,000 kilometers of HTS tape.

Establishing production capacity in Europe is strategically important, the company said, given that most industrial-scale production of HTS tape currently happens in Asia.

"HTS tape is one of the critical technologies needed to scale fusion rapidly at an industrial level. Alpha and Stellaris will create the demand required to build this manufacturing expertise locally," said Proxima cofounder and CEO Francesco Sciortino. "Lower Saxony has the industrial base, energy expertise, and political determination to turn a supply-chain dependency into an enduring strategic strength for Germany and Europe."

The company: Proxima was spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in 2023. It has plans to build a demonstration stellarator near IPP, which is planned to become operational in the 2030s. It also has signed an MOU with the Free State of Bavaria, German electric company RWE, and IPP to build a commercial fusion power plant at the site of a former nuclear fission power plant in Gundremmingen, Germany, currently being decommissioned by RWE.

They said it: "We are making Lower Saxony a pioneer in European HTS manufacturing. This will not only support Germany's ambitious fusion-energy goals but also bring advanced manufacturing, new economic value, highly skilled jobs, and technological expertise to our state, with the potential to generate positive innovation effects across many other industries. Lower Saxony will become, quite literally, a magnet for a new critical technology," said Olaf Lies, minister-president of Lower Saxony.

"Lower Saxony offers excellent conditions for the industries of the future. Our research institutions have particular strengths in key fusion technologies, especially laser physics and photonics. The planned facility demonstrates the importance of collaboration between science and industry in developing new areas of strength for Lower Saxony," said Falko Mohrs, the state's minister of science and culture.