Boron is the Gymnast of Fusion
What element has the widest range of uses in the form of high-added-value materials for fusion power? The new Zhar Research report, “Nuclear Fusion Power and Other Plasma Engineering Materials and Hardware Opportunities: Markets 2025-2045”, finds that answer is probably boron. However, it cautions that some of its possible uses are questionable.
Boron fusion fuel is contentious
In 2023, physicists in the US and Japan first observed nuclear fusion between protons and boron-11 atoms in a magnetically-confined plasma. Fusion power developers TAE Technologies and Avalanche Energy intend to use this reaction as a plentiful, economical source of energy with bonuses. The reaction favoured by most developers – deuterium + tritium- requires massively-expensive tritium to be “bred” in fission or fusion reactors whereas boron is naturally occurring and plentiful. Secondly, the reaction may emit few neutrons to cause radioactivity and radiation hazards.
TAE, in the top three for fusion fundraising, intends to send electricity to the grid from a pilot proton–boron power plant by the early 2030s. Avalanche says it results in longer life and lower shielding requirements for a lighter power pack in its controversial table-top fusion power project. Marvel Fusion, with the largest private sector investment in the laser-confinement option for fusion power, targets this reaction using its solid boron-hydrogen nanostructure as fuel target.
Others caution that the scientific basis for such energy sources remains largely unproven and huge technical hurdles stand in the way of commercial p-11B power plants. The reaction temperature has to be much higher, where bremsstrahlung radiation could impair or even destroy plasma confinement by eroding a reactor’s inner surfaces. Reaction rate and power density is theoretically poor. Sometimes, neutron emission may be significant.
Derisking fusion development with spinoffs
The p-11B reaction is being investigated for various allied applications, including generation of novel laser-driven alpha particle sources, and medical uses. Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a regular helium-4 nucleus. The report recommends that fusion companies exploit such related uses because they can provide earlier income and credibility, SHINE Technologies, in the medical sector, being cited as a good example of this.
Boron ceramics, steel, concrete, dopants and detectors needed
Boron ceramics, particularly boron carbide and nitride, are essential materials in nuclear fusion due to their unique combinations of hardness, neutron absorption, thermal conductivity, and high-temperature stability. Research continues to explore ways to further improve their properties and applications here. Boron is used to dope the silicon and germanium semiconductors, modifying their electrical properties. Boron filaments are used in composites with metals or ceramics, similar to carbon fiber, for high-strength materials. Indeed, the massive ITER fusion reactor rests in and on a vast amount of high-density concrete, borated to block neutrons. High-density aggregates like colemanite (a borate mineral) are used in this material. Boron is also used in the instruments that detect and measure the neutron flux.
Boron alloys, getters, protective layers
Boron is used in special-purpose alloys, as an oxygen scavenger for copper and other metals and it is used as a coating for the first wall of magnetically confined fusion reactors to improve plasma performance and manage impurities, particularly when using tungsten as a plasma-facing material. “Boronization” involves a glow discharge where a boron-rich gas is introduced, creating a protective layer on the tokamak's walls and divertor. This layer helps to minimize impurities, which can cool the plasma and hinder fusion. Tokamak Energy has demonstrated boron powder being introduced into the plasma via its new “impurity powder dropper”. New research examines its ablation and penetration into the plasma, and how it interacts with the walls.
Boron glass, borax, protective coating and special steel
More generally, there are boron-based glasses and borax is used in the production of fiberglass. Borosilicate glass is a type of glass contains boron trioxide for low thermal expansion and high thermal resistance. Boron can even form protective coatings on metals to resist corrosion. Micro-alloyed boron steels are used in fusion facilities.
Large emerging materials opportunities
For those supplying added-value materials, the Zhar Research report, “Nuclear Fusion Power and Other Plasma Engineering Materials and Hardware Opportunities: Markets 2025-2045” finds that the most cited elements in 2025 research and company advances are different.
Dr Peter Harrop, primary author of the report, says,
“Deuterium, tritium, iron, beryllium, carbon isotopes (mainly carbon nanotubes and some diamond and graphene), lithium, copper and tungsten well ahead of boron in latest research and fusion company advances. That includes alloys, composites and compounds in each case. Rare earth barium copper oxide high-temperature superconductors are an example. The important point is that there are superb opportunities for advanced materials in this strongly-funded new business sector.”