Manuel Garcia-Munoz is a Professor of Plasma Physics and Fusion Technology at the University of Seville and the Co-Founder & CEO of SMART Fusion Energy, a spinoff dedicated to developing the most compact and efficient fusion power plants based on high-field low aspect ratio tokamaks with negativetriangularity plasma shaping. His work integrates advanced fusion science with practical engineering, with the goal of accelerating the path to commercial fusion energy.

With more than 25 years of experience, Manuel has contributed to major research programs across most of the world’s leading tokamaks and stellarators, coordinating international experimental teams and driving technological innovation. His scientific work has accumulated more than 20,000 citations and earned him prestigious international distinctions, including the APS–EPS Landau–Spitzer Award. He also holds an ERC Advanced Grant supporting his research into next-generation fusion concepts.

Manuel led the design and construction of the SMART tokamak at the University of Seville—a milestone that directly shaped SMART Fusion Energy’s vision and technological roadmap as a proof-of-concept.

He earned his PhD from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and spent more than a decade at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, where he contributed to fundamental advances in tokamak physics and diagnostics.

Combining deep scientific credibility with extensive operational experience and a strong entrepreneurial drive, Manuel now leads SMART Fusion Energy toward scalable, high-performance fusion solutions capable of meeting industrial and grid-level energy demands.