Marathon Fusion

Marathon Fusion, which has raised $5.9mn in investment and about $4mn in US government grants to date, proposes that neutrons released in fusion reactions could be used to produce gold through a process known as nuclear transmutation. https://on.ft.com/40vlx8Y

"alchemy has been pursued by civilisations as far back as ancient Egypt... Now Marathon Fusion, a start-up focused on using nuclear fusion to generate power, has said the same process could be used to produce gold" Great writeup from the Financial Times! https://lnkd.in/diujSQ5m

Exciting announcement by one of the companies I advise! Marathon Fusion has found a way to potentially use fusion devices to transmute mercury into gold, greatly increasing the potential economic viability of fusion: https://lnkd.in/eAtDFa2g The quick summary is that they use the high-energy neutrons, which a deuterium-tritium burning fusion system uniquely produces in large quantities, to react with an isotope of mercury to produce gold. All while still maintaining the strict tritium breeding requirements. The gold could be produced at such a rate that it is worth as much, if not more, than the energy produced by the fusion reactions. This would increase the economic competitiveness of fusion. Like all announcements like this, I encourage a healthy dose of skeptical optimism. Fusion devices are both complex and complicated systems, so it is possible that there are holes in the concept. I praise the leadership at Marathon, Kyle Schiller and Adam Rutkowski, for how they've handled this discovery. They brought in external advisors early to stress test it, thoughtfully wrote it up, protected IP where appropriate, and released the write-up publicly so it can be peer-reviewed. Read the white paper by Adam Rutkowski, Jake Harter, and Jason Parisi here: https://lnkd.in/e2XAyhkg

🔥 Today, #SCSPTech hosted the third plenary session of the Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy! A big thank you to our incredible briefers from Tokamak Energy, Xcimer Energy Corporation, Marathon Fusion, TAE Technologies, Inc, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and RAND! Their insights are invaluable as we work to scale fusion energy. 🚀 Heads up: Fusion will be on display at SCSP’s AI+ Expo from June 2 to 4 — on a panel, on the exhibition floor, and in side events. Don't miss it! https://lnkd.in/dQ9Z4_h3

As an undergrad, I was sad to see some of my brightest friends in physics struggle to find research positions after graduation that would allow them to fully utilize their talents. Too often, the only options were to compromise on their passion to take jobs in unrelated but more "practical" fields, or feel shoehorned into grad school whether or not it was what they really wanted. I'm really excited to share that Marathon is providing a new path forward that I hope will be more appealing, more impactful, and ultimately more fulfilling. Our new Experimental Physicist role will allow upcoming scientists to learn from some of the fusion industry's brightest minds while applying their skills and knowledge in a hands-on R&D setting. Go tell your friends!

Marathon Fusion is taking a trip down to the other side of the bay for a conversation on fusion fuel cycles, to discuss opportunities for investors and to share our latest progress update! Hope to see many of you there. #FusionX #FusionXInvest

Marathon Fusion is making the trip down to the other side of the bay to discuss needs in the fusion fuel cycle, opportunities for investors, and to share the latest updates on our progress. Hope to see many of you there! #FusionXGlobal

Our collaboration with Savannah River National Laboratory #SRNL on the Fuel Cycle "Innovation Research Engine" is now public! Our project is is one of six Fusion Innovation Research Engines the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE) supporting with $107m, all aimed at accelerating commercial fusion energy. A huge thank you to Brenda L. Garcia-Diaz for spearheading this effort and bringing the team together! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/euMTQ928

We are so thrilled and honored to be joining the Department of Energy's Public-Private Partnerships for Fusion Research, working alongside Professor Colin Wolden at the Colorado School of Mines! https://lnkd.in/exk3atPd https://lnkd.in/gRC7UkmK