# Fusion reactors: Resources and labour

Superconducting magnets, beryllium armour and a few grams of fuel

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/resources/

What this tab covers The natural resources (land, water, materials, fuel or feedstock) and the labour needed to capture this energy, per unit, with the reason each is needed.

A fusion plant is a large, metal-intensive machine: superconducting magnets, beryllium or tungsten armour, steel structure and a lithium blanket. Fuel mass is tiny.

#### Natural resources

| Resource | How much | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|
| **Superconducting wire and tape** | ITER: 100,000 km of niobium-tin strand (over 400 tonnes). SPARC: about 10,000 km of high-temperature superconducting tape.^[12](https://www.iter.org/facts-figures)^[14](https://spectrum.ieee.org/fusion-2662267312) | Only superconductors carry the currents for confining fields (20 tesla in the SPARC test magnet) without resistive losses that would consume the plant's output. |
| **Beryllium, copper alloy and stainless steel (first wall)** | 440 panels of about 1 x 1.5 m with 6-10 mm of beryllium tiles, rated for 2 to 4.7 MW/m2 of heat^[13](https://www.iter.org/node/15659) | Light beryllium atoms knocked off the wall cool the plasma less; copper conducts the heat to the coolant. |
| **Steel and structural metal** | ITER machine about 23,000 tonnes; vacuum vessel with ports, blanket and divertor 8,000 tonnes^[4](https://iter.org/sites/default/files/media/2024-07/baseline_press_conference_summary_july-2024_b.pdf)^[12](https://www.iter.org/facts-figures) | The vessel holds a vacuum, resists forces from magnets storing up to 41 GJ, and shields the magnets from neutrons. |
| **Land** | ITER site 180 hectares, main platform 42 hectares^[12](https://www.iter.org/facts-figures) | Tokamak building, tritium and cryogenic plants, power supplies and assembly halls. |
| **Fuel (deuterium, tritium bred from lithium)** | Less than 4 grams in the ITER vessel at any moment^[16](https://www.iter.org/node/18402) | Energy per kilogram is enormous, so fuel is a minor resource; lithium is covered on the Fusion fuels tile. |

#### Labour

| Phase | How much | Skills | Why it is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Construction (research machines)** | About 5,000 people at ITER, up from about 1,400 in 2014^[12](https://www.iter.org/facts-figures) | Precision heavy engineering, welding, cryogenics, vacuum and nuclear-grade quality control | Components weighing hundreds of tonnes must be aligned to millimetres. |
| **Manufacturing and supply chain** | About 4,600 direct staff at private fusion firms and an estimated 9,300 supply-chain jobs; over 18,000 projected to build pilot plants^[15](https://energy.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/5512726/2025-Global-Fusion-Industry-Report.pdf) | Superconductors, lasers and optics, power electronics, remote handling | Most hardware is first-of-a-kind and made to order. |
| **Operation (experiments)** | Over 300 scientists and engineers in JET's final deuterium-tritium campaign^[6](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jets-final-tritium-experiments-yield-new-fusion-energy-record) | Plasma physics, diagnostics, control, tritium handling | Each pulse is an experiment needing analysis and machine protection. |
| **Jobs per MW** | No estimate exists, because no plant generates electricity^[15](https://energy.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/5512726/2025-Global-Fusion-Industry-Report.pdf) | Not applicable | Workforce intensity can only be judged once commercial plants are built. |

Neutron damage means wall components must be replaced periodically, adding to material throughput over a plant's life.

#### Sources

1. [Baseline press conference summary, July 2024](https://iter.org/sites/default/files/media/2024-07/baseline_press_conference_summary_july-2024_b.pdf) ITER Organization, 2024
2. [JET's final tritium experiments yield new fusion energy record](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jets-final-tritium-experiments-yield-new-fusion-energy-record) UK Government (DESNZ / UKAEA), 2024
3. [Facts and figures](https://www.iter.org/facts-figures) ITER Organization, 2025
4. [Blanket first wall](https://www.iter.org/node/15659) ITER Organization, 2025
5. [This Fusion Reactor Is Held Together With Tape](https://spectrum.ieee.org/fusion-2662267312) IEEE Spectrum, 2024
6. [The global fusion industry in 2025](https://energy.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/5512726/2025-Global-Fusion-Industry-Report.pdf) Fusion Industry Association, 2025
7. [Safety and the environment](https://www.iter.org/node/18402) ITER Organization, 2025

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/techniques/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/links/index.md)