Proxima Fusion plans to build a €140 million ($162.6 million) factory producing fusion-grade high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape, a key component for its reactor design. The Germany-based fusion startup intends to combine public and private funding, with the state of Lower Saxony contributing €21 million. Proxima raised €411 million several months ago, elevating it among the best-funded fusion startups. The company will use HTS tape to create powerful magnetic fields that contain the plasma (hot ionized gas) needed for fusion reactions. Its demonstration plant will require 20,000 kilometers of tape, while a commercial power plant will need twice that amount. Most HTS tape is currently produced in China and Japan. The material became a fundamental technology for the current generation of fusion startups a little over a decade ago because it can generate strong magnetic fields at relatively high temperatures, enabling smaller and more efficient reactor designs. Fusion power is expected to consume a large share of global HTS tape production, while companies such as Veir are also using the material to improve data-center efficiency and power density.