• Technology could have major impact on economics of fusion industry
• Paper, yet to be peer-reviewed, generating excitement among scientists

A US fusion energy startup claims to have solved the millennia-old challenge of how to turn other metals into gold.

San Francisco-based Marathon Fusion, a startup focused on using nuclear fusion to generate power, has said chrysopoeia – commonly known as alchemy, and pursued by civilisations as far back as ancient Egypt – could be used to produce gold from mercury.

In an academic paper published last week, Marathon proposes that neutrons released in fusion reactions could be used to produce gold through a process known as nuclear transmutation.

The paper has not yet been formally peer-reviewed, but according to marathon the “pre-print” is generating excitement among scientists.