Saxony builds Europe’s fusion supply chain

Inside HZDR’s target chamber, engineers inspect precision laser and diagnostics systems powering SAXFUSION’s fusion supply chain

(Image courtesy of HZDR)

Fusion energy needs more than brilliant physics. It demands factories that can manufacture laser systems precise enough to ignite plasma and materials engineered to withstand sustained neutron bombardment. Saxony understands this. In October 2025, the German state launched SAXFUSION, a competence network linking research institutions like Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Fraunhofer IWS with local industry to build Europe’s next fusion supply chain. For small and medium enterprises, this represents a gateway to global markets – from Marvel Fusion’s and Focused Energy’s prototypes to ITER’s successors.

This is a region famed for precision engineering now pivoting to manufacture the machines that could power the world. SAXFUSION targets four technology pillars over its three-year development phase. Laser and optical technologies form the foundation, critical for inertial confinement fusion where high-energy beams must compress fuel pellets to extreme densities. Fuel capsule development follows, with integrated diagnostics to measure fusion reactions in real time using micron-scale targets engineered to survive intense pressures. Radiation-resistant reactor materials form the third pillar, drawing on Saxony’s metallurgy heritage to develop alloys and coatings for first-wall components that endure 14 MeV neutron bombardment without degrading. Simulations and AI-driven data analysis complete the suite, creating digital twins of fusion systems to compress design iterations from years to months.

Funded by €2.4 million from the European Regional Development Fund and Saxon state coffers, this isn’t academic research. HZDR coordinates strategic management, leveraging its Institute of Radiation Physics in Dresden and the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) in Görlitz, alongside high-power laser facilities like DRACO and PENELOPE. Fraunhofer IWS handles technology transfer, ensuring laboratory breakthroughs scale to industrial manufacturing. The network extends beyond Saxony’s borders through partnerships with the European XFEL, Extreme Light Infrastructure, ITER, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Small and medium enterprises gain structured entry points through competency mapping, prototype development, and networking events that bridge lab innovations to production capabilities. Industrial partners including Amplitude, Marvel Fusion, and Focused Energy have already committed support. Companies identify where their manufacturing expertise fits within fusion’s emerging value chain—whether machining precision optical components, fabricating radiation-hardened alloys, or scaling diagnostic systems.​

SAXFUSION aligns with Germany’s broader fusion strategy. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space’s action plan envisions a complete industrial value chain, from large-scale research infrastructure to commercial deployment and workforce training. Saxony positions itself not just as a research hub but as a manufacturing powerhouse capable of supplying the components that next-generation fusion facilities will require at scale. If the network delivers on its roadmap, Saxony could define how Europe transitions fusion physics from laboratory milestones to industrial reality through the 2030s.

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