RWE Wants to Make Biblis the Site of the Merger
RWE is increasing its investment in fusion energy and is providing an additional 60 million euros to support the expansion of Focused Energy's laser fusion technology at its Biblis site
May 29, 2026
Source: E & M powernews
RWE plans to further advance fusion energy in Germany. The company is investing an additional 60 million euros in Focused Energy and plans to build a fusion power plant in Biblis.
The German federal government has since declared fusion energy a strategic technology of the future. By 2037, the federal government plans to invest a total of 9 billion euros in development (as we previously reported). RWE is among the first major energy companies in Germany to drive forward concrete industrial projects in this field. This includes its investment in the Darmstadt-based startup Focused Energy.
As the energy company announced in a press release on May 27, it is expanding its stake in the fusion company Focused Energy—which it has held since October 2025—by an additional 60 million euros. The investment is part of an international financing round in which Focused Energy raised a total of 240 million U.S. dollars (equivalent to 206 million euros). Investors from Europe, the U.S., Asia, and the Gulf region participated in the round.
Two Methods of Nuclear Fusion
Currently, companies and research institutions worldwide are primarily pursuing two methods of nuclear fusion: In so-called magnetic fusion, strong magnetic fields stabilize an extremely hot plasma so that hydrogen nuclei do not come into contact with the reactor walls and can fuse with one another while suspended in mid-air. In the process, they release energy.
Focused Energy, on the other hand, specializes in inertial fusion, often referred to as laser fusion. In this process, high-power lasers direct their energy at tiny fuel capsules containing the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium. The enormous heat and intense pressure cause the atomic nuclei to fuse, releasing energy.
The Biblis site in southern Hesse, located between Darmstadt and Mannheim, plays a central role in Focused Energy’s plans. The company intends to build a fusion power plant on the grounds of the former nuclear power plant in the long term. According to RWE, a large portion of the new capital is to be invested in the expansion of the site. The Darmstadt-based company is already working there on development projects for laser fusion technologies.
Advantages of the Biblis Site
RWE sees several advantages in the former power plant site. Grid connections, industrial land, and nuclear infrastructure are already in place. In addition, the company brings experience in power plant operations and the permitting process. Should Biblis be awarded the federal contract for a planned laser fusion hub, RWE intends to accelerate the decommissioning of the existing facilities to make land available more quickly.
While Focused Energy in Hesse is focusing on laser fusion as its method, the Munich-based company Proxima Fusion is advancing magnetic fusion projects in Bavaria (as we reported in late February). With its funding strategy, the federal government aims to further develop both fusion methods in parallel.
Author: Davina SPohn