A New Frontier in Fusion Technology
On the scalable production of gold from fusion reactors
Marathon Fusion has announced a solution to the millennia-old grand challenge of alchemy: the transmutation of gold. Unlike previous attempts, our method is massively scalable, pragmatically achievable, and economically irresistible.
In deuterium-tritium fusion, high-energy neutrons drive "multiplication" reactions to close the fuel cycle by producing the tritium needed to sustain operation. Making use of those neutrons to drive a multiplication reaction on mercury-198, our approach produces mercury-197 which then decays in a few days to the only stable isotope of gold.
Using our approach, power plants can generate five thousand kilograms of gold per year, per gigawatt of electricity generation (~2.5 GWth), without any compromise to fuel self-sufficiency or power output.
This marks the beginning of a new Golden Age. Not only for the production of critical minerals, but also for energy, prosperity, and scientific discovery.
Marathon's Mission
Since our founding in 2023, we've developed fuel cycle technologies to deliver fusion energy more quickly with better economics. Marathon Fusion was founded by Adam Rutkowski, previously a Propulsion Engineer at SpaceX and PhD candidate in Plasma Physics at Princeton University, and Kyle Schiller, previously a Fellow in science policy at Schmidt Futures. We believed then, and now more than ever, that fusion is humanity's best pathway to abundant, clean and reliable energy.
Marathon Fusion is supported by several awards from the US Department of Energy, as well as the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, and leading investors including 1517 Fund and Strong Atomics.
Response From the Fusion Community
While awaiting formal peer-review, the pre-print is generating excitement among leading scientists:
"This new technology approach that Marathon Fusion is developing changes fundamentally how we should think about fusion as an energy source."
"The technology described could have a major impact on the economics of fusion energy if it's able to be fully realized and integrated into upcoming power plants. Improved economics could further relax some engineering and scientific requirements, accelerating the path to commercial deployment. This is potentially highly impactful, and I'll be paying close attention to the results of rigorous peer review"
"The discovery of scalable gold transmutation by leveraging fusion neutrons could fundamentally shift the techno-economic landscape. Marathon Fusion's breakthrough—commercial-scale gold synthesis via nuclear reactions—redefines fusion economics and could unlock the capital needed for next-generation power plants."
A Golden Age for Fusion
Marathon's techno-economic modeling suggests that fusion plants could create as much economic value from gold production as they do from electricity production, potentially doubling the value of these facilities, radically transforming the economics of fusion and of energy more broadly. We aim to leverage this advance alongside policy and investment to accelerate large-scale deployment of fusion energy.
Even beyond gold, the possibilities are abundant: creating other precious metals like palladium, synthesizing medical isotopes at scale, and producing materials for nuclear batteries. Alchemy-native fusion reactors can also be rethought to take advantage of relaxed economic constraints, opening up opportunities in simpler and more scalable approaches.
Towards a New Frontier
Throughout history, scientific development has been key to furthering human understanding and flourishing. Now more than ever, optimism and innovation are needed to address the world's critical challenges.
As in every age, there are inventors, scientists, and adventurers: those who push forward into the unknown. Our growing team has experience at SpaceX, Helion Energy, TAE Technologies, Tokamak Energy, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Tesla, Argonne National Lab, Fermilab, Charm Industrial, Northrop Grumman, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems, as well as 10 PhDs in physics, chemistry, materials science and chemical engineering.
Together, we will usher in a renaissance in fusion technology. And to those who share our belief in the unrelenting promise and potential of scientific progress: the frontier is open, we'll see you there.