Partnerships with Type One Energy and Gauss Fusion help establish the first commercial-scale supply chain for enriched lithium isotopes

SANTA FE, N.M., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Molten Salt Solutions today announced it has signed strategic agreements with Type One Energy and Gauss Fusion to supply enriched lithium for next-generation fusion energy systems.

Investment in fusion is accelerating worldwide, yet developers face a critical materials gap. Fusion systems rely on lithium-6 to produce tritium fuel, however today there is no commercial-scale supply. When deployed at scale over the coming decades, fusion energy will require thousands of tons of enriched lithium.

Today, lithium isotope enrichment relies on a decades-old chemical exchange process that requires thousands of separate processing stages and large industrial systems. The method is difficult to scale and has never been deployed at the volumes needed to support a commercial energy industry. Molten Salt Solutions has developed an advanced solvent exchange process for large-scale lithium enrichment. The company's approach performs many separation steps within a single integrated system rather than across thousands of individual components. This design enables scalable production of highly enriched lithium isotopes, positioning Molten Salt Solutions to supply thousands of tons annually as fusion and molten salt reactors move toward commercial deployment in the 2030s.

"These agreements reflect a growing realization across the industry that lithium isotope supply is one of the key bottlenecks facing fusion and fission energy," said Dr. John Elling, CEO of Molten Salt Solutions. "There is tremendous momentum behind the development of fusion power as the ultimate source of clean energy, but the supply chains needed to support them do not yet exist. We are working to build that infrastructure."

Under the agreements, Molten Salt Solutions has established frameworks with Type One Energy and Gauss Fusion to explore the future supply of enriched lithium. Initial quantities could begin with kilogram-scale materials for testing as early as 2027, with potential expansion to several hundred tons as the companies conduct larger scale testing and deploy their first power plants.

"Enriched lithium is a key resource for enabling a closed D-T fusion fuel cycle and large-scale lithium enrichment is one of the anticipated bottlenecks for the deployment of fusion energy systems. Type One Energy is excited to be working with Molten Salt Solutions to pioneer a scalable approach to this industry wide supply chain challenge," said Daniel Clark, Director of Nuclear and Fuel Cycle Engineering.

"Reliable access to enriched lithium will be a decisive factor in scaling fusion from experimental systems to commercial deployment. Building large-scale lithium enrichment capacity is not optional, it is a strategic imperative for the sector," said Dr. Frederick Bordry, CTO at Gauss Fusion. "The work being done by Molten Salt Solutions to establish these capabilities at an early stage is a critical step toward building the industrial ecosystem required to deliver fusion energy at scale."

About Molten Salt Solutions

Molten Salt Solutions produces enriched lithium isotopes and related materials for fusion and next-generation fission reactors, enabling safer and more cost-effective advanced energy production. The company was founded by chemists with decades of experience in nuclear materials and isotope chemistry, including scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Molten Salt Solutions is building scalable lithium isotope enrichment technology to help establish the supply chains required for next-generation energy systems. The company is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and is backed by Future Ventures and True Ventures. For more info, visit www.moltensaltsolutions.com.

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SOURCE Molten Salt Solutions