Energy Catalyzer

The Energy Catalyzer (also called E-Cat) is a purported cold fusion or Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) heat source built by inventor Andrea Rossi, with support from physicist Sergio Focardi. An Italian patent, which was approved on 6 April 2011, describes the apparatus as a "process and equipment to obtain exothermal reactions, in particular from nickel and hydrogen". Rossi and Focardi say the device works by infusing heated hydrogen into nickel, transmuting it into copper and producing heat. An international patent application has received an unfavorable international preliminary report on patentability because it seemed to "offend against the generally accepted laws of physics and established theories" and to overcome this problem the application should have contained either experimental evidence or a firm theoretical basis in current scientific theories.

The device was demonstrated to an invited audience several times, and commented on by various academics and others, but was not independently tested. Mark Gibbs of Forbes commented: "until a verifiably objective analysis is conducted by an independent third party that confirms the results match the claims there's no real news".

Professor Ugo Bardi of the University of Florence, noting contradictory claims made by Rossi regarding the emission or non-emission of Gamma radiation, the location of a supposed factory – in Florida, or not in the United States at all – and the fact that some of his most vehement supporters are apparently deserting him, said "...the E-Cat has reached the end of the line. It still maintains some faithful supporters, but, most likely, it will soon fade away in the darkness of pathological science, where it belongs".

Reactions to the claims

Rossi and Focardi are reported to have been unable to find a peer-reviewed scientific journal that would publish their paper describing how they claim the Energy Catalyzer operates. Their paper appears only in Rossi's self-published blog, Journal of Nuclear Physics.

University of Bologna researchers have attended some E-Cat experiments as observers. On 5 November 2011, the University of Bologna clarified that they had not been involved in the demonstrations and that none of the experiments took place at the university.

Peter Ekström, lecturer at the Department of Nuclear Physics at Lund University in Sweden, concluded in May 2011, "I am convinced that the whole story is one big scam, and that it will be revealed in less than one year." He cites the unlikelihood of a chemical reaction being strong enough to overcome the Coulomb barrier, the lack of gamma rays, the lack of explanation for the origin of the extra energy, the lack of the expected radioactivity after fusing a proton with ⁵⁸Ni, the unexplained occurrence of 11% iron in the spent fuel, the 10% copper in the spent fuel strangely having the same isotopic ratios as natural copper, and the lack of any unstable copper isotope in the spent fuel as if the reactor only produced stable isotopes. Kjell Aleklett, physics professor at Uppsala University, said the percentage of copper was too high for any known reaction of nickel, and the copper had the same isotopic ratio as natural copper. He also stated, "Known chemical reactions cannot explain the amount of energy measured. A nuclear reaction can explain the amount of energy, but the knowledge we have today says that this reaction cannot take place."

Other reactions to the device have been mixed. Dennis M. Bushnell, Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, described LENR as a "promising" technology and praised the work of Rossi and Focardi. Roland Pettersson, retired Associate Professor from Uppsala University, who witnessed the 6 October demonstration said "I'm convinced that this works, but there is still room for more measurements". Skeptic James Randi, discussing the E-Cat in the context of previous cold fusion claims, predicts that it will eventually be revealed to not function as advertised. Australian skeptic Ian Bryce, after investigating for investor and skeptic Dick Smith (entrepreneur), believes that the power attributed to fusion is being supplied to the device through the earth wire.

Theoretical astrophysicist Ethan Siegel and nuclear physicist Peter Thieberger argue that the claims for the E-Cat are incompatible with the fundamentals of nuclear physics. In particular, the Coulomb barrier for the claimed fusion reaction is so high that it is unsurpassable anywhere in the known universe, including the interior of stars. The reaction also would create gamma radiation that would penetrate the few inches of shielding apparently provided by the E-Cat, leading to acute radiation syndrome in persons involved in the demonstrations. Given numerous other scientific inconsistencies – such as the ratio of isotopes in the supposed copper "fusion product" being identical to that in natural copper – the authors argue that it is now time "for the e-Cat's proponents to provide the provable, testable, reproducible science that can answer these straightforward physics objections."

Swedish physicists, Hanno Essén and Sven Kullander stated that if the claims that they had read were true, then it has to be a nuclear reaction. However the claims that they had read kept secret the catalysts in Rossi's device. Kullander said it was important "to consider the experimental facts and not indulge too much in speculation about what could happen in theory". Saying measurements must be made accurately and independently, which is not possible in this case, as "You have to rely on Rossi that he is true to what he conveys and through discussions with him we may try to conclude how reliable the measurements are."

Theoretical nuclear physicist Yeong E. Kim of Purdue University has proposed a potential theoretical explanation of the reported results of the device, but has stated that, for confirmation of this theory, "it is very important to carry out Rossi-type experiments independently." Kim had previously put forward this theory to explain the results of the discredited Fleischman and Pons cold fusion experiment in 1989.

Patents

An application in 2008 to patent the device internationally had received an unfavorable preliminary report on patentability at the World Intellectual Property Organization from the European Patent Office, noting that the description of the device was based on "general statements and speculations" and citing "numerous deficiencies in both the description and in the evidence provided to support its feasibility" as well as incompatibilities with "generally accepted laws of physics and established theories." The patent application was published on 15 October 2009.

However, on 6 April 2011 an application was approved by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, which issued a patent for the invention, valid only in Italy. International, European, and U.S. patent applications are still pending.

Demonstrations

Typically during demonstrations the device is covered up. The device has not been independently verified. Invited guests attended several demonstrations in Bologna in 2011. Of a January demonstration, Discovery Channel analyst Benjamin Radford wrote that "If this all sounds fishy to you, it should," and that "In many ways cold fusion is similar to perpetual motion machines. The principles defy the laws of physics, but that doesn't stop people from periodically claiming to have invented or discovered one." According to PhysOrg (11 August 2011), the demonstrations held from January to April 2011 had several flaws that compromised their credibility and Rossi had refused to perform tests that could verify his claims.

Another demonstration on 6 October 2011 reportedly lasted for about eight hours. Roland Pettersson, retired Associate Professor from the University of Uppsala, who witnessed it said "I'm convinced that this works, but there is still room for more measurements".

On 28 October 2011 the unit was "customer tested" and was said to release 2,635 kWh during five and a half hours of self sustained mode, an average power of 479 kilowatts – just under half the promised power of one megawatt. Independent observers were not allowed to watch the measurements or make their own, and the plant remained connected to a power supply during the test allegedly to supply power to the fans and the water pumps.

Commercial plans

Originally, a new Greek company, Defkalion, was to deliver a heating plant based on the Energy Catalyzer, but this deal was terminated. Since then Defkalion have announced that they plan to make a similar device.

In May 2011 Rossi reached an agreement with AmpEnergo, an Ohio company, to receive royalties on sales of licences and products built on the Energy Catalyzer in the Americas. Rossi claims to have sold one 479 kilowatt unit to an undisclosed customer and that he has additional orders for thirteen more 1 MW units. At the end of December 2011 Rossi said he was aiming for mass-scale production of a consumer version and electricity generation.

Ecat.com is a website for taking pre-orders for the device, run by four Swedish entrepreneurs, two of them particle physicists. One of the physicists, Magnus Holm, in response to suggestions that he was "contributing to fraud" replied "We are not engaged in any deception, and I do not think Rossi is engaged in any fraud either. If it would turn out that it does not work, in spite of everything, I would think it is about self-deception".

External links

• Josephson, Brian and Driscoll, Judith. "Andrea Rossi's 'E-cat' nuclear reactor: a video FAQ". University of Cambridge, 28 June 2011.
• Wolchover, Natalie. "Cold fusion debate heats up after latest demo". CBSnews.com, 4 November 2011.
• Wolchover, Natalie. "Italian cold fusion machine passes another test". msnbc.com, 3 November 2011.
• Wolchover, Natalie. "Fraud claims over E-Cat 'cold fusion' machine heating up". msnbc.com, 10 February 2012.