Fusion supply chain spending has increased in 2025, but a large majority of suppliers say investment is hard to come by, the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) reported.
In FIA’s Fusion Industry Supply Chain 2026 report, published Tuesday, supply chain spending in the fusion industry increased by 24% to a total of $538 million in 2025. FIA projects that the spending would further jump 27% to a total of $681 million.
“Our fourth annual report sees considerable progress in the relationship between fusion developers and their supply chain,” FIA CEO Andrew Holland said. “Nonetheless, we are still in the engineering phase of the challenge, and while there is much to be optimistic about, demands on the supply chain will expand to serve commercial fusion machines. All players need to have an eye on those approaching tipping points.”
The yearly report, based on interviews with 25 companies and 67 suppliers, showed the “chicken-and-egg” scenario where fusion companies need serious supply chain capacity, but still struggle to give suppliers the long-term confidence to invest, is starting to ease up a bit.
According to the report, 70% of fusion companies are seeing an increase in established suppliers pivoting to fusion. Additionally, 25% of them are observing existing suppliers scaling up capacity to meet their needs. For suppliers, 75% of them have made investments to expand fusion capacity last year, varying from $30,000 to $65 million.
Though fusion investment is growing, obstacles still lie ahead for the advanced nuclear technology. FIA said that 69% of suppliers still cite a lack of long-term visibility as a challenge, something that was present in last year’s report.
Additionally, fusion carries its own bottlenecks in its supply chain, particularly with fusion fuel cycle systems. The fusion fuel cycle system is a closed-loop pathway that removes, purifies and reinjects unburned fuel into a fusion reactor.
According to the report, “48% of fusion companies now view fuel supply as a major future concern. To meet the need, 54% plan to work with external suppliers to develop fusion fuel cycle technologies, such as tritium production and storage.”
FIA, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit organization made up of private companies working towards the commercialization of fusion technology.