Fusion research to get major boost with new high-temperature superconducting tape manufacturing

HTS tape is a specialized metallic tape that becomes superconducting at relatively high temperatures. (Representational image)A Munich-based company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany’s State of Lower Saxony. Proxima Fusion’s deal with the state aims at laying foundations for large-scale industrial production of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape in Lower Saxony. The new production site is intended to create industrial value and highly skilled jobs, while establishing an essential industrial foundation for new European supply chains. Around €140 million in investment is planned for the first two project phases, running until the end of 2029. Fusion-energy goals “We are making Lower Saxony a pioneer in European HTS manufacturing,” said Olaf Lies, Minister-President of Lower Saxony. “This will not only support Germany’s ambitious fusion-energy goals, but also bring advanced manufacturing, new economic value, highly skilled jobs and technological expertise to our state, with the potential to generate positive innovation effects across many other industries. Lower Saxony will become, quite literally, a magnet for a new critical technology.”HTS tape is a specialized metallic tape that becomes superconducting at relatively high temperatures. In its superconducting state, it can carry electrical currents with virtually no resistive losses, making it possible to build electromagnets that are both exceptionally powerful and compact. The magnets built from the tape are essential to stellarators: they generate the magnetic fields that confine and control the extremely hot plasma inside a fusion machine. This makes HTS tape a key enabling technology for fusion. By enabling more compact and powerful fusion machines, it supports not only the technical realisation of fusion energy, but also the development of cost-effective power plants, according to a press release.The planned production site, which will be the first-of-its-kind in Germany and Europe, will create an essential industrial foundation in Lower Saxony for Proxima’s Alpha fusion demonstrator, its planned Stellaris power plant and, ultimately, the production of stellarators at scale. Beyond supporting the stellarator supply chain, the HTS manufacturing capacity would also serve other applications including high-performance electricity grids, medical imaging and treatment, advanced propulsion systems and other high-field magnet technologies, as per the release. HTS tape is one of critical technologies needed to scale fusion Curretnly, HTS tape is manufactured at industrial scale primarily in Asia. Establishing domestic production capacity is strategically important if the stellarator supply chain is to be located almost entirely within Europe. Under current plans, Proxima will require approximately 20,000 kilometres of HTS tape for Alpha and a further 40,000 kilometres for Stellaris. Long-term purchase volumes will be critical to scaling production, retaining manufacturing expertise and reducing the cost per metre.Proxima aims to finance the total investment equally through private capital and public funding, with the State of Lower Saxony providing €21 million, representing just under 30% of the proposed public funding contribution.“HTS tape is one of the critical technologies needed to scale fusion rapidly at an industrial level,” said Dr Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion. “Alpha and Stellaris will create the demand required to build this manufacturing expertise locally. Lower Saxony has the industrial base, energy expertise and political determination to turn a supply-chain dependency into an enduring strategic strength for Germany and Europe.”This plant enables Germany to retain manufacturing expertise and economic value, make its European supply chains more resilient and translate its world-leading stellarator research into an internationally significant industry. By bringing together materials expertise, production processes, quality assurance, skilled workers and suppliers, it would create a critical upstream manufacturing capability with applications across a wide range of sectors while reducing dependence on overseas suppliers, as per the release.“Lower Saxony offers excellent conditions for the industries of the future,” said Falko Mohrs, Minister of Science and Culture, Lower Saxony. “Our research institutions have particular strengths in key fusion technologies, especially laser physics and photonics. The planned facility demonstrates the importance of collaboration between science and industry in developing new areas of strength for Lower Saxony.”Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Prabhat, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, is a tech and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing on modern weapons and emerging tech, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has been previously associated with well-known media houses, including the International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.