Much like the more well-knowntokamak, a stellarator confines plasma using giant magnets.
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Tokamaks look more like a doughnut.
Stellarators have several advantages over tokamaks.
They need less power to operate and make the plasma easier to control.
Tokamaks are better at keeping plasma hot.
But stellarators are better at keeping it stable.
This stability is critical for a viable fusion energy plant.
The biggest drawback is complexity.
Stellarators are notoriously hard to design and build.
This is why they were largely set aside in the 1960s for their simpler cousin, the tokamak.
However, advances incomputational powerare closing the gap.
Now, AI-enabled design has taken the centre stage.
AI lets engineers simulate plasmas behaviour in ways that werent previously possible.
Proxima Fusion is strong in automated design, AI engineering, and high-temperature superconducting magnets.
These strengths give us unwavering confidence in their ability to make steady-state fusion energy real, said Benjamin Erhart.
He is a general partner at UVC Partners, one of the startups investors.
The institute is solely dedicated to fusion research.
It has more people working on plasma physics than MIT.
It is also home to the worlds largest stellarator.
Its called the Wendelstein 7-X.
As you’ve got the option to imagine, it provides an ideal testbed for Proximas technology.
It has already attracted talent from the likes of MIT, Harvard, Tesla, and Google.
Proxima undoubtedly benefits from the wealth of knowledge based at the Max Planck Institute.
Yet, it just is one of over 40 startups worldwideracing to commercialise fusion energy.
Oxford-basedTokamak Energyis looking to commercialise the conventional tokamak, while Stockholm-based Novatron is designing a mirror reactor.
According to theFusion Industry Association, nuclear fusion startups pulled in $6bn in investment last year alone.
Fusion has long been seen as a 20-year-away technology.
Bayern Kapital, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and the Max Planck Foundation also joined in.
Story bySion Geschwindt
Sion is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy.
