From TechCrunch · Tim De Chant · · 1m 20s
Proxima Fusion is building its own superconducting tape
A German fusion startup is spending €140M so its reactors don't depend on tape made in China and Japan.
In brief
A German fusion startup is spending €140M so its reactors don't depend on tape made in China and Japan. Fusion's bottleneck isn't just physics anymore, it's a supply chain for superconducting tape that Asia currently controls. Originally reported by TechCrunch.
A factory for tape
Proxima Fusion said Wednesday it will build a €140 million ($162.6 million) plant to make fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting tape for its own reactors.
“Proxima Fusion is betting on a critical ingredient for its fusion reactors: superconducting tape.”
Public and private money
The Germany-based startup is mixing public and private funding for the build, with the state of Lower Saxony putting in €21 million.
Fresh off a huge round
The factory comes months after Proxima raised €411 million, a round that pushed it into the top ranks of funded fusion startups.
Tape holds the plasma
HTS tape generates the powerful magnetic fields that contain plasma hot enough to fuse. No magnets, no reaction.
“Proxima will use HTS tape to generate powerful magnetic fields to contain the plasma required to spark fusion reactions.”
Twenty thousand kilometers
The demonstration plant alone needs 20,000 kilometers of tape, and a commercial power plant would need double that. Most of it is made in China and Japan today.
“Today, the vast majority of HTS tape is made in China and Japan.”
Why this tape exists
HTS tape arrived a little over a decade ago and made strong fields possible at higher temperatures, which is what allows smaller, more efficient reactors. Data center firms like Veir want it too.
The key point
Fusion's bottleneck isn't just physics anymore, it's a supply chain for superconducting tape that Asia currently controls.
