US-German startup Focused Energy has signed an agreement with RWE and the German state of Hesse to build a 1GW fusion energy pilot plant at the former Biblis nuclear plant site by 2035, as reported by Reuters.
Biblis, Germany’s oldest nuclear plant, was shut down following Berlin’s decision to exit nuclear power.
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Germany’s conservative government, which won the February 2025 election, announced plans to create a regulatory framework for fusion technology in Germany and Europe in November 2024.
Efforts to replicate fusion reactions have been ongoing for decades, using magnets or lasers to create a sustainable energy source free from greenhouse gases and long-lasting radioactive waste.
In 2022, the National Ignition Facility, a US laboratory, achieved a scientific gain in energy from fusion reactions.
Challenges for fusion include developing a supply chain for lasers, sustaining reactions and integrating energy into power grids.
Focused Energy CEO Scott Mercer described the non-binding agreement as a step towards establishing a global supply chain for fusion technology.
“The plant would be the beginning and the learning lesson towards building a supply chain for what would eventually be global deployment,” he stated.
Mercer highlighted the significance of interest from RWE, Germany’s coalition government and Hesse in making the laser-driven fusion project a reality.
“The seriousness of the federal government in Germany towards pursuing fusion as part of the energy mix is, frankly, two orders of magnitude higher than it has been in the US,” he noted.
The solid-state lasers planned for the pilot plant are 30 times more efficient than those used by the US lab.
The estimated cost of the plant is between €5bn and €7bn ($5.4bn to $7.6bn), with expectations for subsequent plants to become more cost-effective.
RWE has made a small financial contribution to the project, while the Hesse government has allocated €20m for fusion research and development.
RWE expressed its commitment to advancing fusion technology in Germany by offering infrastructure at the Biblis site and leveraging its experience as a nuclear facility operator.
RWE also recently announced a power purchase agreement with Meta for the offtake from its 200MW Waterloo solar project in Texas – its third long-term contract with the American multinational technology conglomerate.
