Francesco Sciortino, Co-Founder & CEO of Proxima Fusion: Building the critical power infrastructure for clean energy

Proxima Fusion recently raised €411m at a €2.4bn valuation, the largest funding round in European fusion. The company is building a fusion reactor designed to produce clean, safe energy continuously, without the risk of a runaway reaction.Francesco Sciortino is Co-Founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion. The company has around 200 people working across Munich, Zurich and Oxford. Proxima's next milestone is a full-scale magnet that will prove the reactor design works, expected by the end of 2027.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:09 - Proxima Fusion's €411m raise0:50 - What fusion actually is4:04 - Why Proxima bets on stellarators over tokamaks9:29 - What's changed to bring investors on board11:42 - Inside the Bavarian government partnership16:12 - The next milestone: the Stellarator Model Coil18:29 - Publishing the Stellaris power plant design20:38 - Supply chain risk for fusion magnets