This vital component will enable the European stellarator developer to progress towards building its superconducting demo magnet, a crucial milestone in its roadmap to commercial fusion energy.
Advancing Stellarator Fusion Technology
Stellarators are advanced fusion machines that confine superheated plasma within precisely shaped, powerful magnetic fields. Recent progress in the field includes the W7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany, which achieved record plasma performance and sustained fusion-relevant conditions for tens of seconds.
Proxima Fusion, spun out from the IPP, is advancing this technology by combining expertise from W7-X with cutting-edge developments in stellarator optimisation, computational design, and HTS magnet technology.
Roadmap to Commercial Fusion
With the successful delivery of its demo magnet scheduled for 2027, Proxima Fusion plans to move swiftly towards Alpha in 2031 — its net-energy demo stellarator — followed by Stellaris, a first-of-a-kind commercial fusion power plant, later in the 2030s.
The reliable supply of high-performance HTS tape is critical to this plan. While thousands of kilometres of superconducting tape are required for a single fusion prototype, scaling to commercial fusion power will ultimately demand millions of kilometres of material.
Strengthening the Fusion Supply Chain
Faraday Factory Japan has increased its HTS tape production capacity tenfold since 2020, positioning itself as a key supplier for the emerging fusion sector. The new agreement marks an important milestone for both companies and contributes to strengthening the supply chain for the growing fusion industry.
As the sector moves towards commercial deployment, dependable access to advanced materials like HTS tape will be vital in keeping fusion energy projects on track.
