Scale-up Direct: KfW Capital invests in Proxima Fusion alongside UVC Partners

KfW Capital is investing in Proxima Fusion alongside its portfolio partner UVC Partners through the Scale-up Direct programme. The investment is being made as part of the venture capital pillar of the Deutschlandfonds and represents a further direct investment by KfW Capital via the new co-investment programme.

European pioneer in fusion energy

Proxima Fusion is Europe’s leading stellarator company and the first spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. The company is developing commercial fusion power stations based on stellarator technology and aims to realise Alpha, a demonstrator with a positive energy balance, in the early 2030s. This is intended to pave the way for the world’s first commercial stellarator fusion power plant.

Through this investment, KfW Capital, together with UVC Partners, is supporting the company’s further scaling up. The investment forms part of a €411 million funding round, one of the largest private technology financing deals in Europe.

Christian Röhle, Co-Head of Investment Management at KfW Capital, says:

“Fusion is a highly attractive key technology for strengthening Germany’s future energy security and economic competitiveness. We are delighted to be participating in this impressive funding round alongside our long-standing partner, UVC Partners.”

Christina Koch, Investment Associate at KfW Capital, adds:

“We regard Proxima Fusion as a leading pioneer of the stellarator approach to fusion energy. The team has made a strong impression in a very short space of time through its outstanding scientific and operational achievements. With this structured co-investment, we are creating the financial conditions necessary to anchor groundbreaking technological innovations in Germany for the long term.”

Partnership to strengthen European future technologies

The investment is being made jointly with UVC Partners, a long-standing fund manager in KfW Capital’s portfolio.

Benjamin Erhart, a partner at UVC Partners, explains:

“We first invested in Proxima Fusion back in 2023 during its first funding round, at a time when few investors viewed nuclear fusion as anything more than long-term research. We saw the potential for much more: that fusion could become a critical part of the energy infrastructure, and that Proxima possesses the scientific and technological excellence to lead this development. Three years on, this conviction has become a broad consensus. This funding round demonstrates that Europe can not only keep pace in the global race for fusion technology, but can also take a leading role with its own technology and expertise.”

Dr Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, says:

“Europe is in a race with the US and China to build the first commercial fusion power plant. Our funding round demonstrates that Europe can not only develop groundbreaking technologies but also build globally competitive companies. Our investors recognise both the urgency and the potential of this technology and are supporting us in building a company that can have a decisive impact on the energy supply of the future.”

Scale-up Direct strengthens Europe’s technology leaders

The investment is being made through the Scale-up Direct programme, which forms part of the venture capital pillar of the Deutschlandfonds. The Deutschlandfonds mobilises private capital to strengthen Germany’s competitiveness and future viability. Scale-up Direct supports innovative, high-growth technology companies in strategically important future-oriented sectors in successfully financing their next phase of growth.

With its investment in Proxima Fusion, KfW Capital is continuing to focus on companies that, through scientific excellence and technological innovation, contribute to the energy supply of the future as well as to Europe’s technological sovereignty and competitiveness.

Sonja Höpfner
Spokeswoman and communications manager

Tel: +49 69 7431 4396