Seb Johnson (@SebJohnsonUK)

Proxima Fusion has broken records as Europe's most well-funded fusion company! @proximafusion is building a clean energy reactor to generate endless electricity. Their system runs continuously without stopping to provide cities and grids with a permanent source of power. The Munich-based company recently secured a massive €411m funding round at a €2.4bn valuation. This round made Proxima Fusion the first fusion energy unicorn and most well-funded player in the sector. The company was founded in 2023 by Francesco Sciortino, Lucio Milanese, Jorrit Lion, Jonathan Schilling, and Martin Kubie. I spoke to Francesco about building a reactor that mimics a star, launching a capital round right after a state government deal, and why you must make a machine work before making it cheap. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:09 - Proxima Fusion's €411m raise 0:50 - What fusion actually is 4:04 - Why Proxima bets on stellarators over tokamaks 9:29 - What's changed to bring investors on board 11:42 - Inside the Bavarian government partnership 16:12 - The next milestone: the Stellarator Model Coil 18:29 - Publishing the Stellaris power plant design 20:38 - Supply chain risk for fusion magnets