Episode 22 of the Cold Fusion Now! podcast features Dr. Stephen C. Bannister, an Economist at University of Utah Salt Lake City. Dr. Bannister received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign and then spent a career in high technology, becoming Director of Novell in Provo, Utah.
He then returned for a PhD in Economics at University of Utah where most of his research centers around energy and economic activity and is strongly connected to climate change.
Listen to Dr. Stephen Bannister on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast with Ruby Caraton the podcast page here.
Approaching the 30th anniversary of the announcement of cold fusion by Drs. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons on March 23, 1989, Ruby asked Dr. Bannister if there was any activity on the campus to commemorate the event.
“If you go to the chemistry department and bring up this topic – which I have done – they come back and say “Oh no no no, that’s pathological science, and we don’t want to talk about it much”, says Dr. Bannister, “and I’m not sure that anyone in the physics department has much of an interest in [cold fusion] today. I don’t know that, but I’ve talked to some of the grad students in physics and there’s no awareness of it at that level. However, there is some interest in the Department of Earth Sciences.”
Dr. Bannister learned that a former post-doc at Los Alamos National Lab, who had prepared a report on the LENR work of Dr. Edmund Storms, had subsequently become Dean at the College of Earth Sciences at University of Utah. He and Dr. Bannister are “now in communication thinking about how to begin to advance the rehabilitation of the reputations of Drs. Fleischmann and Pons, and do some other things, although its not very formal yet.”
The National Cold Fusion Institute, funded right after the 1989 announcement, has an archive housed in the UU Library, offering another chance to bring more material to light.
Listen to Dr. Stephen C. Bannister discuss the relationship between energy inputs and economic output, and how breakthrough energy fits in, on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast with Ruby Carat on our podcast page here.
Dr. Yasuhiro Iwamura is the guest on the Cold Fusion Now! podcast with Ruby Carat. Dr. Iwamura is a Research Professor in the Condensed Matter Nuclear Science division at the Research Center for Electron
Photon Science at Tohoku University. He has been dividing his time there between engineering a second Metal Hydrogen Energy generator with Clean Planet Inc. , as well as continuing his signature transmutation work with Mitsubishi.
After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1990 with a degree in Nuclear Engineering, he received a research scientist position with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. “After graduate school, I entered fundamental research laboratory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. At that time, Japan had a good economy, and fundamental research was very active,” says Dr. Iwamura.
“I had been interested in cold fusion and seeking a chance to propose a research theme related to cold fusion. Fortunately, ICCF-3 was held at Nagoya in Japan in October 1992, and I attended it. I talked with many researchers at the conference and I was convinced that cold fusion was real. So I proposed a research plan to my laboratory and it was approved.”
“At the beginning of my research, we mainly did gas-loading and electrolysis type experiments, and finally we reached the permeation in this transmutation method.”
Nuclear transmutation work is replicated
The nuclear transmutations method developed by Dr. Iwamura and his team at Mitsubishi uses a host material described as a “nano-structured thin-film composed of palladium and calcium oxide and palladium substrate, with a target element” then planted between the layers.
A typical target element of Cesium is then transmuted to Praseodymium. Barium has been transmuted into samarium and tungsten into platinum.
Dr. Iwamura cannot explain the mechanism of the reaction behind these results, but he does reveal an experimental fact that should give theorists a clue in trying to construct a model of the reaction.
“We observe 2 or 4 or 6 deuterons make fusion for the target materials. The exact mechanism for the transmutation is not clear, of course, but I speculate that two deuterons are related to helium.”
“A helium atom consists of two protons and two neutrons, and two deuterons consists of two protons and two neutrons. So I suspect that this kind of mechanism exists in this type of transmutation reaction.”
Dr. Iwamura believes that a “very small amount of foreign element like impurity plays a very important role to induce condensed matter nuclear reactions”, too.
In the podcast, he gives an example. “In the case of our type of transmutation reactions, if we put calcium oxide onto the palladium thin-film, near the surface area, transmutation reactions occur, but if we use palladium only, we cannot observe a transmutation reaction.”
“It’s just a speculation, but I speculate that the interface between the foreign element, like calcium oxide, and the main element like the palladium, at the near surface plays a very important role. The mechanism is not so clear, but I suspect this kind of mechanics is behind condensed matter nuclear reactions.”
Transmutation work provides method for radioactive waste cleanup
Yasuhiro Iwamura continues the Mitsubishi transmutation work at Tohoku with support from both Mitsubishi and Clean Planet, Inc. Clean Planet CEO Hideki Yoshino has organized several collaborative efforts with academia and industry in Japan with the hopes of engineering an ultra-clean energy technology, and, ridding the globe of the tons radioactive waste by transmuting it to benign materials.
Dr. Iwamura says, “So even though I’ve moved to Tohoku University from Mitsubishi Heavy industries, I continue to make transmutation experiments using radioactive isotope Cesium-133 at Tohoku University.”
“If this type of transmutation reaction can be applied to radioactive isotopes, it will be possible to get rid of the radioactivity of nuclear waste. The transmutation of a radioactive element is beneficial to society, because many nuclear reactors are working all over the world and generate toxic radioactive waste, and getting rid of toxic radioactivity from Fukushima area in Japan is also beneficial to our society.”
This transmutation work was replicated by other institutes such as Toyota R&D, and is still in its early research stages, but the effort, along with the MHE excess heat project, will benefit greatly from the recent shares of Clean Planet bought by the Mitsubishi Estate Company.
“The stronger financial base of Clean Planet is beneficial to my Tohoku team and to make wider choices towards commercialization”, says Iwamura. “So of course it’s very good, and we’re very grateful to the Mitsubishi Estate companies.”
Of course the commercialization effort includes MHE generator, too.
MHE energy profiles replicated with same samples
“My colleague Ito and I did not have much experience with excess heat experiments before we moved to Tohoku University, because our work at Mitsubishi Heavy Industry was only transmutations. So it was a good chance to learn excess heat generation experiments using the MHE apparatus funded by the Japanese government organization NEDO, the New Energy Development Organization.”
The original MHE generator is located at Kobe University, and is the work of Dr. Akito Takahashi, Dr. Akira Kitamura, as well as a team of scientists and graduate students.
A second Metal Hydrogen Energy device at Tohoku Univeristy designed to replicate results of the first MHE generator located at Kobe University. Graphic: Yasuhiro Iwamura ICCF21 presentation file
“The objective of our collaborative research is to clarify the existence of the anomalous heat generative phenomenon and to confirm reproducibility of the phenomenon. For the purpose, we did not change the design of the experimental apparatus intentionally. So, the second Metal Hydrogen Energy device located at Tohoku University is nearly equal to the first apparatus at Kobe University.”
“Of course we have some different points, for example our experimental apparatus is equipped with a larger number of measurement points, and some couples in our apparatus are slightly different to the first one, but basically, we did not change the design of the experimental apparatus intentionally to show the reproducibility of this phenomenon.”
Dr. Iwamura presented the latest second MHE generator results at ICCF-21 conference reporting excess heat results that were replicated by other labs using the same samples.
“Anomalous excess heat generations were observed for all the active samples at elevated temperature, about 150C-350C degrees Centigrade, and the amount of anomalous heat generation per hydrogen atom ranges from 10 eV per hydrogen to 100 eV per hydrogen or deuterium, which could not be explained by any known chemical process.”
Excess heat results for one sample run on the second MHE generator. Graphic: Yasuhiro Iwamura ICCF21 presentation file.
Also, there were “coincident burst-like increased pressure -and gas temperature- events of the reaction chamber, which suggested sudden energy release in the reaction chamber.”
“These results were observed for all experiments using the copper-nickel-zirconium material with H2 gas. Also, very large local bursts of energy release were obtained as evidenced by the broken zirconia beads used as a medium for the nano-particles.”
“Excess heat experiments using the same material at Kobe and Tohoku Universities showed similar experimental results, and the qualitative reproducibility between Kobe and Tohoku was very good.”
Close communication is key to successful replication
The success of the Japanese LENR research program is unmatched by any other country on the globe, and while support for LENR is not universal within governmental organizations, the continued positive gains provided by the researchers there has made it easier for mainstream organizations to lend a helping hand in a country with big energy needs.
In the cross-disciplinary field of condensed matter nuclear science, collaborative research requires the coordination of scientists from different fields, and Dr. Iwamura feels that “good and frequent communication between Japanese groups is the key” to successful replications.
“For example, I know Professor Takahashi and Professor Kitamura very well, and I ask them frequently about experimental device and method in detail. And during the NEDO project, our research groups often held meetings, and exchanged detailed information. So communication is the key, I think.”
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The Cold Fusion Now! Collective will be attending the LANR/CF Colloquium on the 30th Anniversary of the announcement of cold fusion! We’ll be collecting video for our documentary on the field – hope to see you there
Cold Fusion Researcher David Daggett Runs for House in SE Washington State’s 35th District
DAVID DAGGETT, an activist in efforts to protect the environment, understands well the ecological crisis our planet is facing and the need for exotic clean energy to counter it. Daggett is running for office to create jobs in the 35th and across the state by developing the wood-waste-to-biofuels industry here and will push for the inclusion of advanced energy technology, such as Low Energy Nuclear Reaction technology, in clean energy research labs.
Daggett managed an aircraft repair business and then moved into developing technology for cleaner combustion. Later, his work with biofuel resulted in commercial aircraft flight demonstrations, which lead to wood waste derived biofuels that have been successfully flight-tested. He created Phonon Energy, a cold fusion research organization, in his home town of Shelton. Daggett holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics, an MBA from the University of Puget Sound, did post-graduate work in business at the University of Washington, and earned a PhD in engineering from Cranfield University.
Support David Daggett for State Representative in the 35th-WA:
Dr. Vladimir I. Vysotskii is a Nuclear Physicist and Head of Theoretical Radiophysics Department at Kiev National Shevchenko University, Ukraine. He received a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Kiev Institute of Theoretical physics, and a second Doctorate in Theoretical and Solid State Physics. His areas of research and applications is wide, from lasers to bio-physics.
Dr. Vysotskii’s first theoretical article in the field of cold fusion “Reactions of controlled fusion in crystal targets” was published in 1981 in the Soviet journal of Technical Physics, that is 8 years before the appearance of the term “cold fusion” giving him more than 35 years experience in this area. He participated and made presentations at the first LENR conference in 1990 in Provo at Brigham-Young University and he has subsequently participated in almost all ICCF conferences.
Dr. Vysotskii’s work in LENR is both theoretical and experimental, reporting stunning results of transmutations within living systems in a LENR environment. He is the author of many scientific books including, with Dr. Alla Kornilova, Nuclear Transmutation of Stable and Radioactive Isotopes in Biological Systems.
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Title photo: Japanese Cold Fusion Society Meeting 15 participants.
A new research venture has launched between Tohoku University and Clean Planet Inc. in Japan.
Leading the research team is Dr. Yasuhiro Iwawura, who has left Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, along with Dr. Takehiko Itoh, after years of work demonstrating nuclear transmutations in cold fusion environments, in one case turning Cesium into Praseodymium.
Clean Planet Inc. and The Research Center for Electron Photon Science of Tohoku University agreed to establish the collaborative research division – Condensed
Matter Nuclear Reaction Division at Tohoku University.
In this division, fundamental research on condensed matter nuclear reaction, R&D on energy generation and nuclear waste decontamination will be performed.
The members of the new division consist of researchers of Tohoku University, Clean Planet Inc. and HEAD (Hydrogen Engineering Application & Development Company).
Yasuhiro Iwamura and Takehiko Itoh left the research center of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at the end of March 2015 to complete the formation of this illustrious team.
This new division is made up of the following members:
• Yasuhiro Iwamura, Jirohta Kasagi and Hidetoshi Kikunaga (Condensed Matter Nuclear Reaction Division, Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University, Japan)
• Tadahiko Mizuno (HEAD, Japan)
• Hideki Yoshino, Takehiko Itoh and Masanao Hattori (Clean Planet Inc., Japan)
Hideki Yoshino at 2014 CF/LANR Colloquium at MITHideki Yoshino, the Founder and CEO of Clean Planet Inc, presented results of recent work with Tadahiko Mizuno at the 2014 CF/LANR Colloquium at MIT.
Listen to Replicable Model for Controlled Nuclear Reaction using Metal Nanoparticles [first few minutes of audio missing] [.pdf] [.mp3] [video]
At the conference, Clean Planet showed off their proof of concept reactor which operates at a COP of 1.9 as well as some other reactors being built which are made to operate at the 1kw and 10kw power level. Their reactor is simple and an amazing spectacle to watch. Using normal nickel mesh, they create a brilliant plasma to sputter the surface of the metal, cleaning it and creating surface nanostructures which kick off the Cold Fusion effect. Preparing their material inside of the reactor may solve some of the material consistency issues other commercial groups are struggling with.
They have a well equipped lab with gamma and neutron radiation detection, although they have not seen any consistent hard radiation outside their reactor during excess heat, they have some some occasional bursts.
Clean Planet also presented mass spectroscopy results which confused many scientists and has started a wave of speculation regarding theory. In the mass spectroscopy results, higher masses decreased during excess heat at the expense of lower masses, opposite to what would be expected of fusion events. Clean Planet was quick to point out that these results should be seen as preliminary, their equipment can not separate deuterium and helium so until their outside gas analysis comes back they don’t have solid information.
Japan is in dire need of this technology and has historically been supportive of cold fusion research, we can expect Japan to have a serious presence in the Cold Fusion commercialization race. While Mizuno skyped in, his group was represented at the conference by multiple businessmen, they look to have all the resources they need and attracting funding and talent should not be an issue. This is a company to keep an eye on, they could quickly develop a foothold at the head of this field.
Public-private partnerships have long been a feature of Japanese LENR research, with many academic experimentalists and theoreticians working with industry to both research LENR science and develop applications. Located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku Region, Japan, Tohoku University is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan.
Yasuhiro Iwawura, together with Mitsuru Sakano, Shizuma Kuribayashi, and Takehiko Itoh, had announced plans to work with Tohoku University ten years ago in a paper Observation of Nuclear Transmutation Induced by Deuterium Permeation through Pd Complex published by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Technical Review. Co-author Itoh will join Iwamura on this new project associated with Clean Planet, Inc.
The Japanese government will provide funding for the nuclear waste decontamination research project named “Reduction and Resource Recycle of High Level Radioactive Wastes with Nuclear Transformation” through the ImPACT Program, a Japanese national research program.
Listen to Yasuhiro Iwamura present an updated version of Deuterium Permeation Induced Transmutation Expt. using Nanostructured Pd/CaO/Pd Multilayer Thin Film at the 2014 CF/LANR Colloquium at MIT. [.pdf] [.mp3] [video]
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries research program, headed by Dr. Yasuhiro Iwamura had some big developments since their last presentation 8 months ago at ICCF18. They are focusing on technology which maximizes transmutation using a gas permeation process, previously reporting that they were able to use the cold fusion effect to transmute cesium to praseodymium, essentially producing a valuable material from a radioactive waste.
While transmutation in this field has been a proven reality, a well funded drive to engineer this effect could lead to enormous advances in many fields of technology. Transmutation could solve both issues with nuclear contamination as well as material scarcity, including exotic isotopes.
A research program at NRL failed to replicate these results. At ICCF18 Dr. David Kidwell spoke the same day as Dr. Iwamura about NRL’s failure to replicate the results, he was overly aggressive and had a very mocking tone, accusing them of improper use of equipment, sloppy work and accidentally spiking samples after apparently finding praseodymium contamination in their lab. While the motives behind the NRL bullying were foggy, they ate crow pie a few months later when Toyoto affiliated labs published results showing that they had replicated the transmutation effects in this experiment.
MHI originally said they used gas permeation through a palladium film ion-implanted with cesium to trigger the effect and transmute the cesium to praseodymium. At MIT, Dr. Iwamura showed new developments in their transmutation research; they started developing modular experiments so they can scale up the device to commercial levels.
Dr. Iwamura revealed that they had began hybrid electrochemical experiments where they are using cesium in a liquid solution. This may not only be more effective due to the known electrochemical methods of triggering the effect, but it will also have engineering benefits such as cooling and scalability.
This is an enormous breakthrough if it can transmute Cesium in a liquid solution at high yields. Considering water contaminated with cesium is the main contamination at Fukushima, this technology could not only clean up the radiation but also generate heat as a side product. The potential here is enormous, not only for Japan, but for the world, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is quickly moving forward.
The mission of the new Center is to develop a clean, safe and abundant form of energy for our global community. The transmutation effect of the cold fusion environment offers a chance to clean up the mistakes of the past, as well as begin again with an ultra-green source of power.
Clean Planet also says “We are determined to bring the application models from this division to the market before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020,” and with the team of researchers on board, they just might win that race.
Observation of abundant heat production from a reactor device
and of isotopic changes in the fuel
This test was performed by the same group as the previous test with the following names on the paper:
Giuseppe Levi
Bologna University, Bologna, Italy
Evelyn Foschi
Bologna, Italy
Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér
Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Hanno Essén
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
This 760 hour test is the longest running example of controllable LENR/Cold Fusion and at an excess of 5825MJ it is also the most powerful.
The Temperature peaked at above 1400C, hot enough to be extremely practical as an energy source. The measured COP was between 3.2 and 3.6 with the authors hinting they could have pushed the device further but were cautious due to the huge energy gains when they initially turned it up a bit.
The fuel was analyzed before and after the test and showed significant changes in the elemental profile including shifts to Ni62 and depletion of other Ni isotopes as well as a shift in Lithium isotopes.
Dr. Vladimir I. Vysotskii is a Nuclear Physicist and Head of Theoretical Radiophysics Department at Kiev National Shevchenko University, Ukraine. He received a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Kiev Institute of Theoretical physics, and a second Doctorate in Theoretical and Solid State Physics. His areas of research and applications is wide, from lasers to bio-physics. 
