By Lucio Milanese, Proxima Fusion Co-Founder and COO

We believe Europe has what it takes to lead the world in commercial fusion energy – not only through breakthrough science and technologies, but through an extraordinary ecosystem of industrial capabilities. That’s why we’re excited to announce our Cooperation Agreement with Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU organization managing Europe’s contribution to ITER, the world’s largest fusion experiment.

This marks F4E’s first collaboration with a private fusion startup: an important milestone not only for Proxima Fusion, but for the entire European fusion ecosystem.

A world-class fusion supply chain

Headquartered in Barcelona, F4E has spent nearly two decades building Europe’s industrial fusion backbone by delivering Europe’s 45% share of ITER. With over 400 staff members, from 20 nationalities, and with a supply chain counting more than 2700 companies and at least 75 R&D organizations, they’ve played a central role in designing and delivering some of the most complex components manufactured on the continent, from superconducting magnets to ultra-precise vacuum vessels.

What’s just as impressive as the scale is the system: F4E has helped define procurement standards, quality control protocols, and contract frameworks that have made fusion manufacturing in Europe more reliable, repeatable, and ready to scale.

For a company like Proxima, this foundation is invaluable. Instead of starting from scratch, we’re building on what’s already been proven to work.

Building smarter, together

Our agreement with F4E creates a structured space for learning and collaboration – through regular seminars, technical meetings, and open exchanges on the most critical technologies in fusion.

Take quality control: we will be  adapting AI tools originally developed by F4E to monitor welding and material properties, extending them for our stellarator program. This collaboration saves time, improves outcomes, and gives both of us the opportunity to sharpen our tools.

We’re also aligned in our work on OpenMC, a leading open-source neutronics code. Proxima is lucky to have top contributors to openMC in its team, and we’re continuing to advance the code’s capabilities to support not only our needs, but the wider fusion community’s.

On the magnet side, we’re charting new ground in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) – a different approach from ITER’s low-temperature superconductors (LTS). Even so, there are natural synergies. Several of our suppliers previously worked on F4E magnet systems, and the knowledge transfer goes both ways. F4E’s procurement and quality standards will help ensure that we explore new territory with repeatability and rigor. 

These are just some initial examples – the list goes on, and will continue to grow.

More than a partnership… a shared mission

At its core, this Proxima-F4E cooperation isn’t just about exchanging technical knowledge. It’s about building bridges between Europe’s publicly funded fusion legacy and the new wave of private innovation.

We’re proud to stand on the shoulders of European fusion pioneers at F4E. Their decades of experience are helping us turn bold ideas into buildable, testable, scalable reality.

Together, we’re shaping an accelerated pathway to commercial fusion power in Europe.