Munich-based start-up Proxima Fusion Proxima Fusion has signed a Cooperation Agreement with Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU organisation managing Europe’s contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in France.
Proxima Fusion is the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP). The start-up was founded by former scientists and engineers from the Max Planck IPP, MIT, and Google-X. The group aims to deploy a new high-performance stellarator over the coming years. Proxima Fusion has been building on IPP’s experimental and theoretical work, with a strong engineering workforce “from the likes of Google, Tesla, McLaren Formula-1, and SpaceX”.
This marks F4E’s first collaboration with a private fusion startup. F4E, headquartered in Barcelona, is delivering Europe’s 45% share of ITER. With over 400 staff members, from 20 nationalities, and with a supply chain counting more than 2700 companies and at least 75 R&D organisations, they’ve played a central role in designing and delivering some of the most complex components manufactured on the continent, from superconducting magnets to ultra-precise vacuum vessels.
“For a company like Proxima, this foundation is invaluable”, said Lucio Milanese, Proxima Fusion Co-Founder and COO. “Instead of starting from scratch, we’re building on what’s already been proven to work. Our agreement with F4E creates a structured space for learning and collaboration – through regular seminars, technical meetings, and open exchanges on the most critical technologies in fusion.”
He added: “We will be adapting AI tools originally developed by F4E to monitor welding and material properties, extending them for our stellarator program. This collaboration saves time, improves outcomes, and gives both of us the opportunity to sharpen our tools. We’re also aligned in our work on OpenMC, a leading open-source neutronics code. Proxima is lucky to have top contributors to OpenMC in its team, and we’re continuing to advance the code’s capabilities to support not only our needs, but the wider fusion community’s.”
Proxima ischarting new ground in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) – a different approach from ITER’s low-temperature superconductors (LTS). However, there are natural synergies. Several of Proxima’s suppliers previously worked on F4E magnet systems, and the knowledge transfer goes both ways. F4E’s procurement and quality standards will help Proxima to explore new territory with repeatability and rigor.
Milanese said it is more than a partnership but a shared mission. “At its core, this Proxima-F4E cooperation isn’t just about exchanging technical knowledge. It’s about building bridges between Europe’s publicly funded fusion legacy and the new wave of private innovation. We’re proud to stand on the shoulders of European fusion pioneers at F4E. Their decades of experience are helping us turn bold ideas into buildable, testable, scalable reality.”
The collaborative framework results from an F4E Expression of Interest open to private fusion initiatives based in the European Union. In line with F4E’s new vision, the aim of the scheme is to bring public and private initiatives closer to collaborate better, exchange expertise in areas of mutual interest and ultimately boost Europe’s fusion capabilities.
F4E says the agreement sets a framework of cooperation with no funding transferred between the two parties. It foresees exchanges of information and best practices, insight to key fusion technologies. The topics addressed will reflect the evolving needs and priorities of the parties through a dynamic and flexible work environment. Some of the topics to be addressed include the specificities of procuring first-of-a-kind components, civil engineering, AI, metrology, quality systems and various fusion technologies.
F4E Director Marc Lachaise said: “There is a real opportunity to inject more dynamism into the fusion ecosystem and strengthen it with the knowledge and experience that F4E has acquired over the years, in particular thanks to ITER. We are eager to explore the best ways forward to support the growth of private fusion initiatives, whilst learning from their innovative approaches in fusion.”
Rolling out this initiative required strategic thinking and the collaboration of different F4E teams to create a mutually beneficial framework. F4E is preparing to sign more of these collaboration agreements in future. Pierre-Yves Chaffard, F4E Projects Department Adviser, who was entrusted with development of the scheme, noted: “The lessons we have learned from ITER are of immense value because they address the key areas of any new fusion project: procurement, management, safety, manufacturing and delivery. We have gone through a fascinating learning curve, and we can offer third parties with a lot of experience which they can build on. Through these exchanges we all come out stronger and better prepared.”
