Summary

• Proxima Fusion has signed separate agreements with Japanese manufacturers Fujikura and Kyoto Fusioneering.
• Fujikura will assess German production of superconducting tape required in substantial quantities for Proxima's planned stellarators.
• Kyoto Fusioneering will extend work on plasma heating and fuel-cycle technology, while the underlying projects remain in development.

German fusion developer Proxima Fusion has signed agreements with two Japanese engineering companies to develop superconducting materials, plasma heating equipment and fuel systems, strengthening plans to build an industrial supply chain for fusion power in Europe.

The Munich company has agreed with Fujikura to assess manufacturing of high-temperature superconducting tape in Germany, while a separate agreement with Kyoto Fusioneering extends collaboration on equipment required to operate future fusion reactors. Both memoranda of understanding were signed in Tokyo during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to Japan.

The agreements address different parts of Proxima’s stellarator programme. Superconducting magnets are needed to confine extremely hot plasma, while specialised heating and fuel-handling equipment must create and maintain the conditions required for fusion reactions.

They also introduce Japanese manufacturing expertise into Germany’s efforts to establish a commercial fusion industry. Neither agreement represents a completed factory investment or a binding commitment to supply equipment for an operational power station, but both provide a framework for developing technologies that would otherwise be difficult to obtain at the required volumes.

Superconducting tape becomes a manufacturing priority

Fujikura and Proxima will examine the technical and economic requirements for producing high-temperature superconducting tape in Lower Saxony. Fujikura brings experience in manufacturing superconducting materials, while Proxima can provide the specifications and anticipated demand associated with its reactor designs.

Proxima estimates that its Alpha demonstration stellarator will require approximately 20,000 kilometres of superconducting tape. Each planned Stellaris power plant could require another 40,000 kilometres, illustrating the scale of production capacity necessary if the technology advances beyond individual research machines.

Superconductors carry electric current without resistive losses below their operating temperature. High-temperature superconductors can retain useful properties at comparatively higher temperatures than conventional superconducting materials, although they still require substantial cooling.

In a stellarator, superconducting cables are wound into magnets that generate precisely shaped magnetic fields. Those fields confine plasma away from surrounding components, allowing researchers to investigate the conditions necessary for controlled fusion reactions.

The magnets depend on more than the electrical performance of the superconducting material. Manufacturers must control mechanical strength, consistency across long lengths, winding accuracy, insulation and the integration of cooling systems.

Reliable supply is therefore part of the reactor engineering problem. Unavailable materials or inconsistent production quality could delay magnet fabrication, qualification and installation even where the underlying reactor design is technically sound.

Lower Saxony’s investment remains conditional

The Fujikura partnership builds on an earlier agreement between Proxima and the state of Lower Saxony to develop industrial-scale superconducting tape production.

That programme envisages approximately €140 million of investment across its first two phases, running until the end of 2029. The proposed financing would be divided equally between public and private sources, with Lower Saxony planning a €21 million contribution towards the public element.

These figures describe the earlier manufacturing proposal rather than a newly committed Fujikura investment. Site development, financing arrangements and the technical and commercial feasibility of production remain matters for further work.

Under the new agreement, Fujikura’s expertise could help determine how existing manufacturing methods might be expanded to meet European fusion requirements. Its involvement also offers a potential route to transferring specialist production knowledge into a developing regional industry.

Manufacturing location affects several commercial considerations, including logistics, quality assurance, collaboration with magnet developers and exposure to interruptions affecting international suppliers. Establishing production in Europe could reduce some of those dependencies, although the facility would still need specialist equipment, materials and expertise sourced through wider international markets.

The projected volumes also depend on Proxima’s development programme progressing as intended. Long-term demand estimates can inform investment decisions, but they do not constitute guaranteed orders or evidence that commercial stellarator construction has begun.

Kyoto Fusioneering supplies a different capability

The second agreement concerns technologies used after a reactor’s magnetic confinement system has been assembled. Kyoto Fusioneering will extend its collaboration with Proxima on gyrotrons, which produce high-power microwaves used to heat plasma, alongside equipment associated with the fusion fuel cycle.

Plasma heating systems must deliver energy into the confined plasma under demanding operating conditions. Fuel systems involve separate engineering requirements associated with handling and processing materials needed during reactor operation.

Kyoto Fusioneering also plans to contribute its expertise to industrial deployment initiatives in Germany, including the federal Fusion Hubs programme. The collaboration expands existing technical work rather than establishing that all the equipment required for a commercial plant is available.

Integrating these systems will be a substantial engineering task. Magnetic confinement, plasma heating, diagnostics, fuel processing and plant controls must operate together, while maintenance and equipment reliability will influence whether a reactor could eventually support electricity generation.

Japan’s established engineering capabilities and Germany’s fusion research infrastructure provide complementary resources, but developing reliable products for industrial operation is different from demonstrating individual components in research environments.

Commercial deployment remains ahead

Proxima is developing Alpha as a demonstration stellarator targeted for the early 2030s. Its proposed Stellaris commercial power plant would follow later, subject to the technical and industrial milestones needed to support its design.

The company draws on European stellarator research, including work associated with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and Wendelstein 7-X. That research provides important scientific and engineering foundations, although commercial electricity generation requires additional advances in integrated reactor performance and plant operation.

The Fujikura and Kyoto Fusioneering agreements extend Proxima’s industrial relationships across materials manufacturing, plasma heating and fuel technology. Their progress will become measurable through completed feasibility assessments, production investments, equipment qualification and delivery against the requirements of the Alpha programme.