German startup Proxima Fusion whose team includes engineers from MIT, Google, SpaceX, and McLaren has unveiled a fusion energy reactor design it believes offers the quickest route to commercially viable fusion power.Dubbed Stellaris, the machine is a quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator with high-temperature superconducting (HTS). This type of reactor uses complex, twisted magnetic fields to confine hot plasma, creating the conditions needed for fusion reactions.Stellaris is designed to operate in continuous mode and be intrinsically stable, Francesco Sciortino, Proximas co-founder and CEO, told TNW. No other fusion power plant design has yet been demonstrated to be capable of that. Stellaris design builds on the Wendelstein 7-X, the worlds largest stellarator, located at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany. While Wendelstein 7-X was developed for research, Stellaris could one day power the grid.The of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!Proxima aims to bring the design to life with its first demonstrator Alpha slated for completion in just six years. Alpha will be the first-ever fusion device demonstrating net energy production in a steady state, said Sciortino. The machine will lay the foundation for Proximas first 1GW fusion reactor, which the company hopes will power up sometime in the 2030s.Stellarators have several advantages over their more popular cousin, the tokamak (the type adopted by ITER mega project under construction in France). They need less power to operate and are more stable. Their biggest drawback is complexity stellarators are notoriously hard to design and build. This is why they were largely set aside in the 1960s for the tokamak. However, advances in computational power are closing the gap.An AI-enabled fusion reactor designSimilar to other industries like automotive or aerospace, Proxima uses AI supercomputers to rapidly iterate the best fusion reactor designs based on key parameters like cost, material availability, and efficiency. So instead of having to build multiple prototypes, Proxima can jump straight into building a functioning demonstrator.The understanding of complex geometry and its consequences is everything in stellarators, said Sciortino. AI is helping Proxima to uncover patterns that lead to simpler, faster, and cheaper designs.Stellaris is designed to generate more power per unit volume than any previous stellarator. High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets create stronger magnetic fields, allowing for smaller, faster-to-build, and more efficient reactors. This approach also reduces costs in both construction and operation. Stellaris uses only existing materials, making it buildable with todays supply chains, the company said. Full details of the reactor were published today in the journal Fusion Engineering and Design.The renders of Stellaris feature a unique twisting design. Credit: Proxima FusionMunich-based Proxima made history in 2023 as the first company to spin out from the esteemed Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, one of the worlds leading fusion research centres. The institute focuses exclusively on fusion and has more plasma physicists than MIT.Proxima raised 20mn in funding last year as it looks to turn the mind-bending physics of fusion into a viable business. When Proxima started its journey, the founders said, This is possible, well prove it to you, and they did, said Ian Hogarth, a partner at Plural, one of Proxima Fusions earliest investors. Stellaris positions QI-HTS stellarators as the leading technology in the global race to commercial fusion. Story by Sin Geschwindt Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecos (show all) Sin is a climate and energy reporter at TNW. From nuclear fusion to escooters, he covers the length and breadth of Europe's clean tech ecosystem. He's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. Sin has five years journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Get the TNW newsletterGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.Also tagged with