Google has made its first strategic investment in European fusion energy, backing the German startup Proxima Fusion. The move, alongside energy giant RWE, signals that Big Tech now sees access to clean, reliable electricity as a prerequisite for the AI race.
The Munich-based company, which emerged from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, plans to build a demonstration stellarator reactor in Gundremmingen within a few years. The project carries an estimated cost of 2 billion euros.
Proxima Fusion raised 411 million euros in its latest funding round, pushing its valuation to 2.4 billion euros. The round was led by XTX Ventures, the investment arm of British billionaire Alex Gerko, which contributed about 25 percent of the total, and East X Ventures.
Google and RWE join the shareholder list
Google entered as a strategic investor – its first such move in Europe – while German utility RWE, also active on the Polish market, invested 25 million euros. The investor list also includes venture capital funds Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton and Cherry Ventures.
Proxima Fusion is simultaneously seeking public support: it has applied for 1.2 billion euros in federal funding from the German government and has been promised 400 million euros by the Bavarian authorities.
Fusion as a solution for AI’s energy hunger
The stellarator is a type of fusion reactor that mimics processes in the sun by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium, releasing vast amounts of clean energy. Unlike conventional fission, it produces no long-lived radioactive waste.
Google is not betting on a single technology. It has also invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a US startup developing tokamak reactors, and signed a long-term power purchase agreement for up to 200 MW from the first commercial ARC fusion plant, expected in the early 2030s. Additionally, Google backed TAE Technologies and signed a deal with Kairos Power to buy electricity from small modular reactors (SMRs) before fusion becomes commercial.
– A few years ago, leadership in the AI race depended on programmer skills, data access and computing power. Today, securing uninterrupted energy supply for data centers years ahead is just as important. Google, Microsoft and Amazon are increasingly acting not only as tech companies but as infrastructure investors, engaging in nuclear energy, renewables and their own generation projects – explained Marcin Stypuła, a Google expert and founder of the digital marketing agency Semcore.
By diversifying its energy portfolio – from fusion to SMRs – Google is hedging its bets to power the growing demand from AI data centers.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Longfin Media / Shutterstock
