Google has invested in Germany-based Proxima Fusion as part of a €411 million ($468 million) funding round, supporting the company’s plans to develop Europe’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant. While highlighting the promise of fusion energy, Google also noted that commercialising the technology remains a complex challenge.
The funding round values Proxima Fusion at $2.7 billion and was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures. Google and German energy company RWE joined as strategic investors, alongside Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, and Cherry Ventures.
Proxima Fusion is developing stellarator technology, one of the approaches to nuclear fusion. The company aims to build a fusion demonstrator in the early 2030s before moving towards a commercial fusion power plant later in the decade.
The newly raised funds will support the expansion of high-temperature superconducting cable and magnet production, along with engineering, manufacturing, and recruitment across the company.
In a blog post, Google described fusion as a technology with significant long-term potential, stating, “Fusion holds huge potential as an energy source of the future.” The company added that it is clean, abundant, inherently safe, and can be developed in many locations. However, Google also cautioned that “commercialising the technology is immensely challenging, and success is not guaranteed.”
This is not Google’s first investment in the sector. The company previously invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems in the United States and signed an electricity offtake agreement with the company in 2025 to purchase power once its first commercial plant becomes operational.
Proxima Fusion CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino said the company is part of the global effort to commercialise fusion energy.
“Europe is racing with the United States and China to get to the first fusion power plant,” Sciortino said. He added that the latest funding demonstrates Europe’s ability to build globally competitive companies around breakthrough technologies and reflects growing investor confidence in the future of fusion energy.
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