Germany’s laser fusion company Focused Energy said on May 27 it has completed a $240 million Series A funding round. It said this is the largest Series A investment in the history of the global fusion industry. Focused Energy said the round has made it Europe’s highest-valued fusion company.

In the round, German energy group RWE invested $60 million, joining as a strategic investor and industrial partner. Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation SPRIND, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund and existing lead investor Prime Movers Lab also participated. The round was oversubscribed, with investors from Germany, Europe, Asia and the Gulf region taking part.

The funds raised will be used to develop RWE’s former nuclear plant site in Biblis, Hesse, near Frankfurt. The plan is to build the world’s first industrial laser fusion power plant by using existing nuclear plant infrastructure and RWE’s expertise in operating nuclear power plants. The target completion time is the mid-2030s.

Thomas Forner (토마스 포르너), co-founder and CEO of Focused Energy, said, "Laser fusion is the only fusion approach to date for which a scientific net energy gain has been verified." He added, "This funding confirms our approach, which has grown into a global leader in four years."

RWE CEO Markus Krebber (마르쿠스 크레버) stressed, "Germany is in a position to play a world-leading role in fusion based on an excellent research ecosystem and innovative startups such as Focused Energy." SPRIND head Rafael Laguna de la Vera (라파엘 라구나 데 라 베라) said, "Building a commercial fusion reactor is the most important moonshot mission of the 21st century."

Focused Energy, founded in 2021 as a spinoff from the Technical University of Darmstadt, currently employs about 160 scientists and engineers from more than 20 countries. It has bases in Darmstadt, Berlin, Austin and San Francisco.