Germany has announced an investment of nearly 2.5 billion euros in nuclear fusion research, with 1.7 billion euros allocated to research and development through 2029 and a further 755 million euros earmarked for new infrastructure and technology demonstrators. The ambition is explicit: the coalition agreement signed by the CDU/CSU and SPD in May 2025 states that "the world's first fusion reactor should be built in Germany." Unlike conventional nuclear fission, fusion produces no long-lived radioactive waste, making it politically viable even in a country that phased out fission-based nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Four German startups — Proxima Fusion, Gauss Fusion, Focused Energy, and Marvel Fusion — are developing competing approaches, while a growing supplier ecosystem and backing from states including Bavaria and Hesse signal that industrial momentum is building, though experts caution that a power-generating fusion plant is unlikely before 2040.