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The fusion hubs are designed as central locations where companies, research institutions, and industry collaborate on-site and virtually on technological solutions for future fusion power plants. The federal and state governments are working in close coordination on this. The goal is to: combine existing expertise from business and science; focus research and development even more strongly on the fusion power plant; and accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into industrial application.

Funding for the hubs - created as part of the Fusion 2040 programme and Germany's High-Tech Agenda - will begin next month. The first collaborative research and development projects will launch shortly thereafter. In the first round, the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) will provide the hubs with about EUR125 million (USD142 million) in funding. The hubs' research and development programmes will be expanded successively in six phases until 2029. These funds will be supplemented by private investments, international collaborations, or activities undertaken by the federal states.

The three selected hubs focus on three key technological areas:

- VEGA is dedicated to laser fusion and is coordinated by Marvel Fusion and Focused Energy. The hub - which will be based at RWE’s former Biblis nuclear power plant in the German state of Hesse - aims to consolidate existing expertise in Germany in photonics, optics, laser technology, and the development and manufacturing of targets. Targets are small spheres or cylinders containing the fusion fuel. These technologies will be used to develop application-oriented fusion technologies.

- STRIDE focuses on magnetic fusion, particularly stellarator technology. The hub, coordinated by Proxima Fusion, Gauss Fusion, and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, aims to facilitate the translation of scientific findings into industrial developments.

- MAT-TRIX is coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and addresses the cross-cutting topics of fuel cycles and materials development. These include, among other things, the production and handling of the fusion fuel tritium, the development of so-called breeding blankets, and materials that can withstand the extreme conditions in a fusion power plant over the long term. Breeding blankets are components in future fusion reactors in which the fusion fuel tritium is produced from lithium.

The partners will initially create joint structures for their collaboration. These include plans for research and development, the management of intellectual property, and the recruitment of skilled personnel.

In the future, further companies, research institutions and stakeholders from the high-tech industry, value chains and supply chains are expected to be involved.

The BMFTR noted that it already funds research projects in laser and magnetic fusion, the development of new research infrastructures, and junior research groups. It said the new hubs complement these measures by structuring the technology fields, pooling activities, and establishing lasting networks between research and industry. As the next step, the BMFTR is planning milestone-based financing, which will particularly support application-oriented developments by involved companies.

"Fusion has enormous potential to secure the energy supply of the future – clean, safe, and always available. Germany is excellently positioned in fusion research, has promising start-ups, and can become a global pioneer," said Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär. "It has great value creation potential for Germany as a business and innovation hub. Our goal is therefore clear: The first fusion power plant should be located in Germany. With the three fusion hubs, we are now combining entrepreneurial ambition and scientific expertise. This will accelerate the development of new fusion technologies and ensure better knowledge transfer. The federal and state governments are working hand in hand to develop the hubs into strong locations for fusion research and technology in the long term."

Germany's fusion ambitions

On 1 October last year, the German cabinet announced it had approved the federal government's action plan aimed at accelerating commercial fusion deployment in Germany. By 2029, more than EUR2 billion (USD2.4 billion) will be invested in fusion research, as well as the development of new research infrastructures and pilot projects. The Fusion Action Plan implements a flagship measure of the High-Tech Agenda Germany - announced in July 2025 by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space - in fusion, identified as one of six critical future technologies for the country.

In September 2023, then Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger announced that Germany would significantly increase research funding for fusion with an additional EUR370 million over the next five years. Together with funds already earmarked for research institutions, the ministry will provide more than EUR1 billion for fusion research by 2028. The move was aimed at paving the way for the first fusion power plant to be constructed in Germany by 2040.