School of Management Technical University of Munich
Proxima Fusion
x TUM
TUM Seminar · Summer 2026 · Case Study

Does Proxima Fusion Have the Potential to Disrupt Energy Generation?

TUM Seminar: Successful Adaption of Enterprises in Fast Changing/Disruptive Markets

Dr. Victoria Ossadnik | TUM Summer 2026
Presentation map

Agenda

01 · Darioush Kottke

Introduction & Growth Mindset: Need for change and how Proxima unlearns institutional constraints

02 · Bilal Eren

Agile & Design Thinking: Rapid adaptation, simulation loops, and real-world use

03 · Maximillian Fuss

Mission, North Star & Conclusion: Alignment, roadmap, and potential for disruption

Section 01

The Need for Change

Anticipating structural disruption in energy generation

Darioush Kottke
The Need for Change

The gap is structural.
Markets already act on it.

Firm clean power is becoming scarce just as demand and capital accelerate — before fusion is commercial.

The gap

Structural pressure on firm clean power

01
Firm clean power scarcity Reliable, non-intermittent low-carbon electricity is the binding constraint.
02
Data centers ~2× by 2030 AI and hyperscale loads raise demand for always-on power (IEA trajectory).
03
Coal & fission phase-out Legacy baseload is being retired faster than clean firm capacity replaces it.

The response

Markets are already repositioning

04
Hyperscalers backing fusion Procurement shifts: Big Tech funds nuclear and fusion to secure firm supply.
05
Capital prices anticipation Funding waves show money is moving before commercial plants exist.

So what: The need for change does not depend on fusion working. The capital and strategy race already does — that is the case opening.

Evidence · Early warning

The best demand forecasts in the world
are buying firm clean power today.

When sophisticated buyers sign decade-long contracts for capacity that may not exist yet, treat it as signal — not noise.

>€900/MWh Dunkelflaute day-ahead peaks vs ~€79 yearly average BNetzA / Kartellamt · late 2024
22–36 GW New controllable capacity Germany needs by 2035 Bundesnetzagentur
Scarcity priced · capital moving
Microsoft Three Mile Island restart ~835 MW firm carbon-free power · multi-decade offtake for AI load.
Google · CFS & others SMRs + fusion PPAs Buying future firm clean power — including plants that do not exist yet.
Google + RWE · Jul 2026 Proxima Fusion €411M Strategic capital into Munich stellarators — the signal lands in Germany.

Course lens: Incumbents often ignore early structural signals. Hyperscalers are paying to be early — that is the market-driven need for change in action.

Company snapshot

Enter Proxima Fusion

2023

Founded: 2023 (First spin-out of Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics).

Stellarator

Technology: Commercial stellarator plant.

€650M

Capital: €650M total funding (including recent €411M round).

Pre-commercial

Status: Pre-commercial, but immense capital influx demonstrates market validation.

Company snapshot · Team

Five founders. One spin-out.

Proxima Fusion founding team

Martin Kubie

Jonathan Schilling

Lucio Milanese

Jorrit Lion

Francesco Sciortino

Company snapshot · Capital

Capital scales with conviction.

~€650M Total funding cited
€2.4B Post-money · Jul 2026

2023

Pre-Seed / Early

~€8M

LeadPlural + UVC Partners

Key (re)investorsHTGF, early angels

Founding round Valuation n/a

2024

Seed

~€22M

Leadredalpine

Key (re)investorsPlural, UVC (re-invest)

First major round Valuation n/a

Jun 2025

Series A

€130M

LeadCherry Ventures + Balderton

Key (re)investorsPlural, redalpine, UVC, DST Global et al.

First big jump Sharp step-up

Sep 2025

Series A Ext.

~€17M

Lead—

Key (re)investorsExisting investors

Bridge / extension

7 Jul 2026

Growth · Series B

€411M

LeadXTX Ventures + East X Ventures

Key (re)investorsPlural (4×), Cherry, Balderton, redalpine, UVC, DST, Lightspeed + Google, RWE, KfW, SPRIND, Burda, Brevan Howard

€2.4B post-money Europe’s largest private fusion round

Course lens: Capital is not only fuel — the re-investor stack (Plural 4×, Google, RWE) is market validation before commercial power.

Company snapshot · Market validation

The latest round changes the signal.

A hyperscaler, an energy incumbent, and repeat investors now validate the commercial race around fusion.

€411MGrowth round
€2.4BPost-money
Financial Times headline about Google and XTX backing Proxima Fusion
Financial Times · 7 July 2026
Headline about Google and RWE backing Proxima Fusion's financing round
Business · 7 July 2026

Lead: XTX Ventures + East X Ventures

Strategic and repeat capital: Plural (4×), Cherry, Balderton, redalpine, UVC, DST, Lightspeed, Google, RWE, KfW, SPRIND, Burda, and Brevan Howard

Section 02

Growth Mindset

Unlearning institutional constraints — and proving it

Darioush Kottke
Growth Mindset

They unlearned “fusion is research.”
Then proved it with speed and partnership.

Growth mindset here is not a slogan — it is the decision to treat commercialization as learnable, then organize culture and partners around that bet.

What they unlearned

From institutional constraint to commercial mandate

01
Unlearned “fusion is research” Rejected the fixed-mindset rule that fusion belongs only in institutes and papers.
02
Academic IP → commercial Moved Max Planck physics into a startup vehicle built for product, capital, and timelines.

How it shows up

Culture, velocity, and ecosystem as evidence

03
Zero-ego sports-team culture Competency over tenure; mission-first execution without research bureaucracy.
04
Design in 1 year (half the plan) Integrated plant design delivered in ~12 months — learning velocity made visible.
05
IPP chose partnership over competition Parent institute aligned via synergistic public–private model instead of rivalry.

So what: Growth mindset is the unlearning. Culture and speed are the proof. Partnership with IPP shows the ecosystem unlearned too.

Next · Bilal Eren

Agile & Design Thinking

Rapid adaptation and building for real-world use

Bilal Eren
Agile

Agile Through Rapid Adaptation

Projects evolve weekly as new technical insights emerge in Proxima Fusion

AdaptAdjust the plan quickly based on emerging information
InsightDiscover new technical findings that inform direction
LearnIterate and absorb lessons for the next cycle.

Dynamic by Design

Things change fast.

Projects evolve weekly.

New insights shift plans.

Change is part of learning, not a failure of planning.

Agile

Iterative Learning Through Simulation

Simulate Test Learn Refine Design

Multi-physics simulation

Tests alternative stellarator designs.

Prototyping

Validates selected solutions before larger commitments.

Automation and AI

Accelerate analysis and repeated refinement.

Agile

Step-by-Step Risk Reduction

Component
Testing

Validate materials, magnets, and manufacturing assumptions.

Stellarator
Model Coil

De-risk high-temperature superconducting magnet technology.

Alpha
Demonstrator

Test the integrated stellarator concept and target scientific energy gain.

Stellaris

Move toward a commercial fusion power plant.

Each milestone generates learning that informs the next stage and reduces risk before larger commitments.

Design Thinking

How Proxima Connects Human Need, Technology,
and Business Potential

Human Need

Clean, reliable, and secure energy for Europe

Technology

Stellarator engineering through simulation, prototyping, and testing

Business Potential

A commercially viable fusion power plant

Proxima connects Europe’s energy need with technological feasibility and commercial ambition.

Design Thinking

From Science to Real World Use

Proxima aims to build a commercially viable power plant — not only prove that fusion technology works.

Who contributes?

  • Research institutions
  • Energy companies
  • Industrial partners
  • Energy operators

How their expertise shapes development?

  • Manufacturing and supply-chain capability
  • Infrastructure and grid requirements
  • Plant operation knowledge
  • Industrial scale-up and deployment

By involving future operators and industrial partners early, Proxima brings real-world requirements into development before the final plant is built.

Section 03

Mission, North Star & Conclusion

Alignment, roadmap, and potential for disruption

Maximillian Fuss
Mission Statement

Building stellarators
to power the future

We believe that fusion has the potential to provide safe, clean, and abundant energy to humanity. That’s why we’re taking the technical approach with the clearest path to grid deployment.

Mission Statement

The Tagline

“Building stellarators to power the future”

Mission Statement

The Wider Mission

“We believe that fusion has the potential to provide safe, clean, and abundant energy to humanity. That’s why we’re taking the technical approach with the clearest path to grid deployment.”

Mission Statement

Mission Alignment: Ticking All Boxes

Purpose

Need for safe, clean and abundant energy at scale

High Level Goals

Focus on “clearest path to grid” and inventing technology to “power the future”

Core Values

Hands-on approach, shifting from scientific experimentation to industrial commercialization

Proxima Fusion has a strong mission which sets the company on a clear path, attracts top-tier, purpose-driven talent and acts as clear signal to investors.

North Stars

The North Star: Rigid, phased timeline to deploy physical hardware to the grid

2025

Stellaris Fusion Power Plant Concept

Conceptual stellarator fusion power-plant machine
Integrated concept
2027

Completion of Stellarator Model Coil (SMC)

Non-planar stellarator model coil prototype
Coil validation
Early 2030s

Alpha Demonstration Stellarator

Alpha demonstration stellarator with modular coils
System demonstration
Late 2030s

Stellaris Fusion Power Plant

Conceptual commercial stellarator fusion power plant
Grid deployment
Proxima Fusion Case StudySource: [1]
Conclusion

Conclusion: Potential for Disruption

€411M Recent Funding
Late 2030s Target for Commercialization

Will Proxima Disrupt Energy?

Proxima Fusion shows strong potential to disrupt the energy system — based on the frameworks assessed (growth mindset, agile execution, mission, and capital architecture).

But

Fusion remains a pre-commercial deep-tech venture. Proxima’s success depends on continuous capital attraction and rigorous physical delivery of its North Star milestones.

Proxima Fusion Case Study · TUM
TUM Seminar

Presenters

Successful Adaption of Enterprises in Fast Changing/Disruptive Markets

DK

Darioush Kottke

Introduction & Growth Mindset

BE

Bilal Eren

Agile & Design Thinking

MF

Maximillian Fuss

Mission, North Star & Conclusion

Discussion

Thank You

Questions & Answers

Appendix

Appendix

Backup material for discussion

Appendix · Sources

Evidence map

[1]

Proxima Fusion — company mission, roadmap, plant concept, Model Coil, Alpha demonstrator, and grid-deployment targets.

[2]

IEA — data-center and AI electricity-demand trajectory through 2030.

[3]

Bundesnetzagentur / Bundeskartellamt — German scarcity pricing and controllable-capacity requirements.

[4]

Microsoft / Constellation and Google — firm clean-power procurement and advanced-nuclear announcements.

[5]

Financial Times and business coverage — 7 July 2026 financing, valuation, Google, RWE, and XTX participation.

[6]

Company and investor announcements — funding rounds, leads, repeat investors, and strategic capital.

Appendix · Action

Strategic Recommendations

  • For Proxima: Maintain agile velocity; rigorously hit physical milestones (Model Coil, Alpha) to secure Series C+ funding.
  • For Proxima: Deepen design thinking integration with supply chain partners to mitigate manufacturing risks.
  • For Incumbents: Treat Proxima's momentum as a clear early-warning signal.
  • For Incumbents: Form strategic partnerships or venture investments now to secure future baseload capacity.
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