Proxima Fusion raises €411M at a €2.4B valuation — Europe's largest fusion round

Proxima Fusion raised €411M at a €2.4B valuation — the largest private fusion round in Europe to date, taking its total raised past €650M (including €95M in public grants). XTX Ventures and East X Ventures led; Google joined as a strategic investor (its first European fusion investment) alongside German utility RWE (€25M). Most of the round funds Alpha, a net-energy stellarator demonstration Proxima is developing with RWE and the Max Planck Institute at the former Gundremmingen fission site in Bavaria, targeting operating plants in the 2030s.

Why it matters

Two validation signals in one round: Google extending its fusion portfolio from the US (CFS) to Europe, and a utility — RWE — putting money and a retired nuclear site into a stellarator startup. The stellarator path just got its first company priced in CFS territory, and repurposing fission sites gives European fusion something it has lacked: grid connections and licensed land.

What to watch

Alpha's engineering milestones against the 2030s target, and whether Google's involvement converts into a power-purchase agreement like its US fusion deals.