# 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.
- Title: Proxima Fusion is building its own superconducting tape
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: fusion, supply chain, superconductors, energy, startups, technology, Proxima, building, own, superconducting, tape, TechCrunch
- Source: TechCrunch — https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/10/proxima-fusion-bets-e140m-on-a-critical-fusion-ingredient-dominated-by-asian-suppliers
- Author: Tim De Chant
- Published: 2026-09-10T18:38:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: fusion, supply chain, superconductors, energy, startups, technology
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Fusion's bottleneck isn't just physics anymore, it's a supply chain for superconducting tape that Asia currently controls.