Month: June 2011

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Low Energy Nuclear Revolution

A week ago Phizero s.r.l., an Italian developer of control systems for industrial automation, released “Low Energy Nuclear Revolution,” a 40-minute documentary on the E-Cat story. Today they’ve released a version with English subtitles.

The documentary briefly covers the history of cold fusion before going on to introduce some major players in the E-Cat story, though not Andrea Rossi himself. Those interviewed include professors Sergio Focardi, Emilio Del Giudice, Francesco Celani, Christos Stremmenos, and Giuseppe Levi, doctors Stefano Bagnasco and David Bianchini, reporter Angelo Saso, and author and blogger Daniele Passerini. The documentary gives a good look at some of the people most closely associated with Rossi, how they entered the cold fusion field, how they became involved in Rossi’s work, and what sort of evidence persuaded them that Rossi’s work was worth examining.

The documentary is narrated by Ing. Giacomo Guidi, a nuclear medicine researcher (and, one might perhaps assume, very familiar with the physics of nuclear reactions). According to Phizero the documentary is the “[f]irst part of a big work in progress.” The staff of 137 Films, the producers of The Believers, are mentioned in the credits, but what relation this documentary has to The Believers, if any, is not made clear.

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Query interviews Giuseppe Levi

Query, the official journal of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CICAP), has a new interview with University of Bologna Department of Physics Professor Giuseppe Levi.

The interview covers New Energy Times journalist Steven Krivit‘s controversial visit to Bologna, written documentation of the university’s E-Cat tests, and the university’s new research contract with Andrea Rossi. Of particular note, regarding the contract:

“Then you have the freedom to publish your results, I guess.”

“Absolutely. This was of course a conditio sine qua non. In this part of the total freedom to publish results that are positive or negative. At the measures we are totally free to do so.”

Members of the University of Bologna research team conducting tests on Rossi’s E-Cat will include Professors Levi, Ferrari, Bonetti, Campari, and Villa.

(The interview in the link above is an English machine translation of the original interview in Italian, which can be found here.)

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The Defkalion website is live


Defkalion Green TechnologiesOn June 23 Defkalion Green Technologies S.A. updated their website, replacing their placeholder page with a new, more professionally-designed site. Two items of interest on the new website are a description of DGT’s product line and a brief explanation of the science behind the E-Cat.

The small units will range from 5 to 30 kWh/h, and will be 55×48×35 cm (roughly 22×19×14″).
The larger 1 MW units will fit inside a 20×40′ (roughly 6×12 m) container.

Regarding the science behind the E-Cat, DGT has this to say:
“The science behind the E-Cat increases the probability of particles overcoming the electrostatic potential Coulomb barriers in order to penetrate the nucleus by the quantum mechanical tunneling effect, yielding in an exothermic reaction between Hydrogen and Nickel. By decreasing the surface upon which a given amount of pressure is exerted, the odds for the tunneling effect to occur are increased, allowing for higher penetrability of the Coulomb barrier.”

The second sentence is the key one, as it purports to explain how the Coulomb barrier is overcome. Whether this hypothesis was developed by someone at DGT (such as Prof. Christos Stremmenos), by Andrea Rossi, or borrowed from elsewhere is not made clear on the website.

Also of interest on the new website are a white paper and a forum. The 11-page white paper is the most significant update. There are a few inconsistencies between the white paper and the press release reported on earlier, particularly regarding the power output and introduction date of the kW-range product.  To briefly summarize the white paper:

  • There are two companies: Defkalion Green Technologies S.A., based in Athens, which controls the manufacture of the product; and Praxen Defkalion Green Technologies (Global) Ltd., based in Cyprus, which controls the contract with Andrea Rossi regarding his industrial secrets.
  • DGT’s product, called Hyperion, consists of an E-Cat, a hydrogen canister, and electronics inside a container (Hyperion Power Generation might have something to say about that name.) The smaller units will range from 5-30 kW in multiples of 5 kW, while the larger units will range from 1.15-3.45 MW.
  • Three factories will be built in Xanthi, Greece. The first is being designed for a maximum production capacity of 300,000 units (both kW range and MW range) per year. The second, scheduled for 2012, will be even larger. The third factory will produce the secret catalyst to be used in the products.
  • Production of the 1 MW Hyperion will commence in the first quarter of 2012. No date is given for the production of the kW Hyperion.
  • Hyperion products will come in six configurations, designated Series A through F. Series A and B will be kW-range electrical generators, Series C and D will be kW-range heaters, and Series E and F will be MW-range products. All Hyperion products will be remotely monitored by Defkalion.

Oddly, the white paper appears to claim that the nickel-hydrogen exothermic reaction at the heart of DGT’s product line is not cold fusion, LENR, or CANR. This is particularly odd, as the explanation of the science on the website is all about overcoming the Coulomb barrier. The Coulomb barrier is the electrostatic barrier that exists between positively-charged nuclei under normal conditions, so any reaction that overcomes the Coulomb barrier is by definition a nuclear reaction of some sort.

The establishment of a forum is an interesting move, and may be a good way to stir up excitement for the Hyperion product line. Much will depend on DGT’s moderating policies and whether company officers will actually engage with the forum members. Company participation in the forum appears to be minimal so far.

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Early news from Greece

Defkalion Green TechnologiesThe Greek website energypress.gr has a recent press release apparently giving details on Defkalion Green Technologies‘ commercial arrangements ahead of their press conference.

Among the details:

  • The company’s funding is completely private.
  • The company has €300-400 million in investments.
  • The company will build three industrial units in Xanthi, Thrace.
  • Apart from the large demonstration reactor, the company will produce large 1-3 MW units and smaller 10-30 kW household units.
  • The first prototype reactors will be produced by the end of July, regular production will begin in November, and the first household units will be introduced next January.
  • The cost of the device (household unit?), used as a water and space heater, will be €4000-5000.
  • A converter to produce electricity from the unit will cost an extra €500-900.

Hat tip to my Italian namesake Matteo on Daniele Passerini’s blog.

(The article in the original Greek can be found here. Corrections from those who know Greek are welcome.)

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A Nobel Laureate speaks out on the Energy Catalyzer

Dr. Brian Josephson, winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on superconductivity, has recently released a YouTube video of an interview of himself conducted by Judith Driscoll, Professor of Materials Science at Cambridge University. The stated purpose of the video is to wake up the media to the E-Cat story, which has not been widely reported on in the mainstream media of the English-speaking world. While some cold fusion advocates hypothesize the existence of a conspiracy of silence to suppress news with such important implications, Josephson suggests the silence is more due to an unwillingness of the traditional media outlets (both general and scientific) to risk appearing credulous by simply reporting on the story.

The content of the video is not really news for those who have been following the E-Cat story. Josephson himself is not likely privy to secret details of Andrea Rossi’s work, although he has kept up with developments in his capacity as an editor of the “Energy Catalyzer” page on Wikipedia. The video appears intended as an introduction of the energy catalyzer to a general audience including, of course, those in the media. Josephson uses a number of simple analogies and illustrations to explain why he believes the E-Cat could work. One of his analogies addresses the lack of high-energy gamma rays produced by Rossi’s device—a serious objection from a nuclear physics perspective if the device does indeed work by the fusion of nickel and hydrogen.

However, while he gives support for the idea that the E-Cat could work, Josephson doesn’t offer his own hypothesis detailing how he believes it does work. Perhaps optimists and skeptics alike can at least agree that there is still too little known publicly about the E-Cat for anyone (except Rossi, perhaps) to develop a comprehensive theory on how it functions, if indeed it does. A comprehensive theory is not necessary for the commercial success of device: it just needs to work. But, if it does work, there will be a much stronger demand than there is even now among scientists for more details on the process so that it can be researched properly. Rossi’s recent deal with the University of Bologna researchers is a positive development in that respect.

The imprimatur of a Nobel laureate in Physics may prove beneficial to Andrea Rossi, and to cold fusion research in general. In Dr. Josephson’s case that benefit may be tempered by the fact that he has been known as a cold fusion advocate for years. And perhaps it would also be wise to recall that a Nobel laureate in Physics, Sir John Cockcroft, was involved in hot fusion’s version of the Fleischmann-Pons story, so we have evidence, if we needed any, that a Nobel Prize in Physics doesn’t prevent one from drawing wrong conclusions in the field of physics.

Still, if nothing else, Dr. Josephson’s YouTube video and tomorrow’s press conference in Greece may prove to be the catalysts that convince the mainstream media the time is right to start reporting this story. More media reporting on the story means a wider audience, and therefore more people talking about the E-Cat and cold fusion in general, and discussing whether it can be real. That seems to be precisely what Dr. Josephson is hoping to accomplish. We shall see if he is successful.

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Mr. Rossi talks E-Cat

Steven B. Krivit of the New Energy Times went to Bologna, Italy to see the Energy Catalyzer in operation. As the first commercial application of cold fusion technology planned for industrial release in October of this year, the Energy Catalyzer, or E-Cat for short, is anxiously awaited by the world as a viable alternative energy.

Still, numerous false hopes over the past twenty-two years have caused scientists and industry alike to be extremely skeptical of the claims generated by this small, scalable, green-energy reactor that uses a fuel of hydrogen.

Mr. Krivit is the author of The Rebirth of Cold Fusion but is now backtracking and vehemently against the calling this reaction “cold fusion” and skeptical of Mr. Rossi’s technology as well.

Read a review of Rebirth of Cold Fusion by Scott Chubb on Infinite-Energy.