Nuclear energy is a proven technology that has the ability to generate stable electricity for the entire world. Of course, the downsides are the nuclear waste, the potential for meltdowns, and the fact that some types of nuclear energy can produce weapon-grade materials. Nuclear fusion reactors, if they are ever perfected, could solve some of these issues and provide the world with almost unlimited energy.

One energy startup may have not only come up with a path to make fusion energy work, but they would also solve the problem of nuclear waste.

How? Simple, set it up so that the waste product from the reactor is gold.

Yes, literal gold.

Of course, it isn’t quite as simple as that, but they published a paper (not yet peer-reviewed) that shows how they can use nuclear transmutation to generate energy and produce gold at the same time.

The company, Marathon Fusion, has already raised $6 million in private investments and $4 million in government grants, so people are taking it seriously. In a Financial Times publication, Department of Energy plasma physicist Ahmed Diallo, who has read the study, said:

“On paper it looks great and everyone so far that I talk to remains intrigued and excited.”

So, how is it done?

To start with, the paper proposes using nuclear transmutation, which is a process of changing one element or isotope into something else by having a proton removed from its nucleus. During this process, energy is released in the form of heat, which can then be used to generate steam to turn a turbine and create usable electricity. These are all well-known processes that have been used in other applications (even if pulling a proton away from a nucleus is not easy).

So, Marathon Fusion suggests using mercury-198 in this process. The fusion reactor would be set up to rip one proton off of the mercury-198, generating heat, and leaving mercury-197 behind as waste.

Mercury-197, however, is an unstable isotope, so it will naturally (and relatively quickly) decay into gold-197.

While the process of efficiently removing the proton from the Mercury-198 needs to be perfected so that it can be done efficiently (one of the big challenges of fusion is generating more energy than it takes to start the reaction), it is known to be possible. So, if the company can come up with an effective method, they could produce massive amounts of energy and stacks of gold as a byproduct.

Just how much gold? A lot. They estimate that they could make 11,000 pounds of gold per year for every gigawatt of electricity they generate.

Needless to say, if this is successful, the company could be sitting on a proverbial (and, kind of, literal) gold mine.

One major gold mine is that the gold isotope is radioactive, so people couldn’t use it until the radioactivity dissipates. Fortunately, that will only take 14-18 years, which is not long at all when looking at this type of reaction.

This is certainly an interesting and even potentially exciting possibility. Of course, there is a saying when it comes to fusion power:

“The technology for nuclear fusion reactors is about 10 years away, and it has been for the last 60 years.”

If this company has really unlocked the possibility of creating nuclear fusion effectively, and with gold as a byproduct, however, it would change the world forever.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.