Recent breakthroughs at U.S. fusion labs, along with new public-private partnerships, are bringing us closer than ever to realizing fusion energy’s limitless potential. With the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) new Office of Fusion, the Genesis Mission executive order, Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, and public and private investment, fusion is officially on the national agenda. America is standing on the cusp of a trillion-dollar future.
However, the U.S. has a major gap to fill in fusion research and development (R&D), and workforce development. Public investment lags behind rival nations, slowing progress toward commercialization and leaving a shortage of skilled workers to replace aging talent. As a result, the industry must compete aggressively with other sectors to recruit and reskill science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals from adjacent fields.
COMMENTARY
The DOE’s roadmap outlines a Build–Innovate–Grow strategy to close materials gaps, accelerate research using artificial intelligence ( AI), and grow the U.S. fusion ecosystem through manufacturing hubs and workforce development. But as was emphasized at the SCSP AI + Fusion Summit and the Fusion Industry Association’s U.S. Fusion Forum, a shortage of qualified talent could slow progress just as speed is needed most.
Fusion’s Workforce Moment
At the SCSP Summit, Representative Don Beyer (D-Virginia) described fusion as “a technology with the potential to eliminate energy‑driven conflict and reduce global poverty,” contingent on cultivating “a workforce capable of building and operating this revolution.” Government and industry leaders warn that talent must scale substantially to meet DOE’s aims for commercial fusion by the mid‑2030s.
Microsoft has agreed to purchase fusion power, Google is ramping up fusion investment, and dozens of pilot plants are nearing construction. Yet much of the focus remains on science and hardware, not on creating the human infrastructure to sustain it.
Building, operating, and maintaining fusion power plants will require a massive talent expansion. Ignition Research, CleanTech Alliance, and Peak Nano estimate that commercial fusion could create more than one million jobs by 2050, drawing from analog industries like nuclear and renewables. More conservative estimates are in the 400,000-800,000 range, with Realta Fusion placing its estimate at 411,000 jobs.
National lab leaders at the U.S. Fusion Forum highlighted the urgency of workforce expansion, noting that at least 28,000 new skilled workers are needed within the next decade to meet commercialization targets.
As DOE Under Secretary Darío Gil stated, “For the first time, DOE, industry, and our national labs are aligned around a shared purpose, accelerating fusion commercialization through infrastructure, AI, and workforce development.” Washington State University’s nuclear reactor training center and Tri‑Cities apprenticeship program were cited as examples of how universities, labs, and trade schools can collaborate. Speakers agreed this model must scale dramatically.
From the Lab to the Classroom
Commercial fusion will require wide-ranging, multidisciplinary roles bridging the academic and the practical. Companies need electricians, welders, machinists, software engineers, and materials scientists as much as plasma physicists. Realta Fusion predicts that by 2050, we’ll need 198,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction, 193,000 in operations and maintenance, and 20,000 in R&D. Fusion is already creating skilled manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin, which hosts three of the nation’s 25 fusion companies (SHINE, Realta, and Type One Energy).
But the U.S. lacks a coordinated national strategy to produce these skilled workers. Most fusion‑related programs remain concentrated in advanced science rather than technical training, creating a gap between research and operations. Leaders across both October events called for STEM curriculum expansion, apprenticeship funding, and national certification standards to ensure graduates emerge “fusion‑ready.” It also was a topic discussed at POWER’s Experience POWER event last October.
Closing the Skills Gap with STEM
A National Science Foundation report outlines key fusion workforce obstacles: worker shortages, retention issues, and insufficient academic infrastructure for applied STEM education or fusion training. Meanwhile, China is producing nearly 10 times more PhDs in fusion‑related fields than the U.S., and is aggressively building fusion facilities. China threatens to overtake the U.S. as a research superpower across science funding, output, and talent.
This underscores the need for early STEM engagement connecting fundamental science with practical skills. Students should see clear routes “from classroom to control room.”
Our challenge isn’t just to excite the next generation about fusion’s foundational science and power potential, but to embed engineering, programming, and manufacturing into curricula from K-12 on. We must also bring in members of underrepresented communities, as Realta has done with its sponsorship of science camps for middle school girls and nonbinary children.
Partnering to Build the Fusion Pipeline
Creating a fusion-ready workforce demands strong public-private partnerships like the DOE’s Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) program, which connects public research to industry needs. The STEM Education and Skilled Technical Workforce for Fusion Act introduced in Congress would empower NSF and DOE to fund workforce programs and technical training.
Leading fusion companies, startups, national labs, and government must align with universities, community colleges, and trade schools on workforce needs and launch a multi-tiered education pipeline to get us there.
That means:
- Expanding education programs blending STEM and hands‑on experience.
- Scaling technical apprenticeships, fellowships, and internships to deliver job‑ready talent.
- Creating national “fusion‑ready” credentials and accelerated pathways for STEM workers from adjacent fields, legacy energy sectors, and overseas.
- Establishing regional workforce hubs tying education to manufacturing growth.
Beyond education, the industry should place greater focus on retaining existing talent. We need an adaptable workforce for AI, data science, robotics, and materials innovation, which underpin modern energy systems. As the fusion industry matures, robust STEM education and interdisciplinary learning will be non-negotiable.
A Workforce to Power Our Future
Fusion promises to power our energy-hungry future and create meaningful, long‑term careers for American workers. These jobs won’t be isolated in elite research hubs; they’ll come to every rural community and manufacturing town from coast to coast, reinvigorating the middle class while advancing U.S. science and energy leadership.
But without a coordinated national effort to develop fusion talent, we risk losing out. The DOE’s roadmap and pending legislation like the Fusion Workforce Act offer a historic chance to start building fusion’s workforce. If we invest now, fusion won’t just power AI and the grid. It will power careers, communities, and America’s enduring technological leadership.
—Dr. Michael Ponting is chief scientific officer at Peak Nano; Kieran Furlong is CEO of Realta Fusion; and Dr. Saskia Mordijck is associate professor of Physics at the College of William & Mary. References: S. Mordijck “Policy opportunities to meet US Fusion Workforce demands,” Fusion Science and Technology, Accepted, 2025.
