Fusion energy and electric mobility as winners
Pushing innovative technologies and revolutionary ideas, six companies made it to the finals of the German Entrepreneur Award 2026 in the Startup and Rising Star categories.
In the Startup category, the founders of Proxima Fusion from Munich won over the judges with their technology for developing commercial fusion power plants. DeepDrive, based in Garching near Munich, was recognized as a rising star for its innovative motor technology for the next generation of electric cars.
Bringing the energy of the stars to earth
This is exactly what the Munich-based startup Proxima Fusion aims to achieve. It has set itself the ambitious goal of paving the way for a climate-friendly and inexhaustible energy supply with the world's first commercial fusion power plant based on stellarator technology.
Stellarators have the advantage of being able to operate continuously and are therefore better suited for long-term power plant operation. A successful fusion power plant could supply large amounts of electricity around the clock without the need for storage. This would be of great strategic importance, particularly for energy-intensive industries.
Proxima Fusion was founded in early 2023 as the first spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. The startup is one of the most ambitious European deep-tech startup.
Revolutionizing the electric motor
With a new type of motor technology, DeepDrive aims to fundamentally improve electric drive. Unlike conventional electric motors, which have a single rotor, DeepDrive's design uses two rotors. This saves material, reduces costs, and increases efficiency at the same time.
The Garching-based company already collaborates with some of the world's largest automobile manufacturers. Investors include BMW i Ventures, the Volkswagen-backed funds Leitmotif and co-pace and Continental's venture capital unit.
Six of the seven founders of DeepDrive studied at the Technical University of Munich, where they were part of the same motorsports team and competed against universities from around the world in electric race cars they had developed themselves.
The German Entrepreneur Award
The German Entrepreneur Award is the country's most prestigious acknowledgement of entrepreneurial excellence and achievement. It was launched by ZDF, Porsche, Sparkasse, and the FAZ, and is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
In 2025 the quantum startup Planqc, based in Garching near Munich, received the prestigious award. The company develops quantum processors based on neutral atoms that operate at room temperature.
