Andrea Rossi’s Cold Fusion Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat): Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Energy Catalyzer?

It is a "Cold Fusion" device developed by Italian engineer and inventor Andrea Rossi. It produces heat by placing nickel powder of very small particle size (nano-meters to micro-meters) in a pressurized hydrogen environment along with currently undisclosed (for proprietary reasons) catalysts that enhance the reaction. When this environment is heated to approximately 450 – 500 C, a nuclear reaction starts taking place. This reaction releases a large amount of energy while consuming very little hydrogen and nickel powder.

 

Who is Andrea Rossi?

He is an Italian engineer and inventor who has been working on energy related projects for decades. Currently, he is the President and Founder of Leonardo Technologies Incorporated of Bedford , NH .

 

What is Cold Fusion?

It is a term that describes a broad range of nuclear reactions – including nuclear fusion – at relatively low temperatures. For example, hundreds of degrees instead of millions of degrees like inside of a star such as our sun.

 

How much energy does this system produce?

There is currently only one model of reactor that has been disclosed. It is designed to produce 10 kW of continuous thermal energy in the form of heated water or steam. However, this is not the upper limit of the energy the system can produce. It can be throttled up to 130 kW or higher, but that is avoided except during experimentation for safety reasons.

 

How large is the system?

The reactor vessel itself is very small with a volume of only one liter. The auxiliary equipment such as control mechanisms, lead shielding, hydrogen canister, and other components can easily fit on a medium sized table top.

 

How much fuel does the Energy Catalyzer consume?

Very little. One hundred grams of nickel powder will power the device for six months. However, since only a small amount of that nickel will have reacted with the hydrogen 90% of the nickel will remain. It can be extracted, re-processed, and re-used as fuel.

 

What isotopes of nickel are consumed?

The nickel powder put into the device is not of any specific isotope. It is just common ordinary nickel of a very small particle size. However, is thought that only two isotopes of nickel (62Ni and 64Ni) are being consumed.

 

What type of hydrogen is consumed?

Only light hydrogen is used. Heavy hydrogen (deuterium) does not work.

 

Are byproducts being created?

The two isotopes 62Ni and 64Ni are apparently being transmuted into non-radioactive isotopes of copper and trace amounts of other stable and non radioactive elements such as zinc.

 

What is the catalyst and why has it not been disclosed?

Only Andrea Rossi and a few close business partners know the identity of the proprietary catalyst. The catalyst is critical intellectual property, as it is the key to producing significant quantites of energy. A patent application has been submitted covering the catalyst(s) involved. It has been stated that when the patent application is granted and a full patent is issued, the information about the catalyst or catalysts will be revealed.

 

When will the patent be granted?

It is hoped the patent will be granted by the time the one megawatt plant opens this October. However, there is a standing policy at the US Patent Office not to grant patents to "cold fusion" devices. If the patent office does not approve it by then, the information about the catalyst will have to remain secret. Please do not hound or contact the patent office about this issue. The best way to proceed is to get as many people as possible interested in this technology. Millions of people openly discussing why the patent office is not granting a patent to a valid technology being put to industrial use may make it difficult for them to justify their actions.

 

Do we know anything about the catalyst at all?

All we know from Andrea Rossi's comments is that it is not a precious metal, is not radioactive, and is claimed to be ubiquitous and very inexpensive.

 

Does this system produce any radioactivity?

Yes, but it is all contained inside of the reactor vessel which is shielded by two centimeters of lead. However, the radiation serves a very important purpose. It interacts with the materials that compose the reactor (steel, lead, and boron) to generate heat that warms water, boils water, or turns water into steam.

 

Does this system produce any radioactive waste?

No radioactive materials are put into the reactor vessel. In addition, only hours after the system is turned off the reactor can be opened and no radiation can be detected. Unlike traditional nuclear power, no uranium, plutonium, or other radioactive elements are ever input into the system; and no radioactive waste is produced.

 

How is the device activated?

To start up the device, current passes through a series of resistors that produce heat inside of the reactor. The input power via the resistors is approximately 1000 watts. After reaching a temperature of around 450 to 500 Celsius, the reaction starts up. Once the reaction has started the input is lowered to around 80 watts.

 

What would happen in a catastrophe?

If a catastrophe struck, the reactor may break, and the contents may spill, but since a reduction of hydrogen pressure would immediately cease the reaction, the device would turn off immediately. Also, since there is no radioactive elements put into the device and no nuclear waste produced in the device, no radioactive materials would be put into the environment.

 

Can the device self sustain without an input?

Yes. This mode of operation has been achieved many times for a period of several hours during experimentation. However, to achieve a self sustaining mode of operation, the nuclear reactions must be allowed to become very energetic, and the output becomes so high that explosions are possible. During ordinary use the system will be utilizing only a fraction of the output possible when in a self sustaining mode.

 

How do you turn off the Energy Catalyzer?

The device can be deactivated by turning off the resistors and reducing the hydrogen pressure or venting hydrogen from the system. If this does not totally quench the reaction, the water flow around the reactor can be increased. This can cool the contents below the temperature required for the reactions to take place.

 

Can this device produce electricity?

This device does not directly produce electricity. However, it can produce high temperature steam that can power turbines or other types of steam powered generators to produce electricity. Due to the low fuel cost of the Energy Catalyzer, electricity produced utilizing such a method should be very cheap.

 

Did I read that a one megawatt plant is being built?

Yes, a one megawatt plant will be opening during the second half of October in Xanthi , Greece . This plant will utilize one hundred and twenty five 10 kW modules linked together to produce one megawatt of output.

 

What will the output of this one megawatt plant be used for?

The one megawatt of energy produced will be used to power a factory that will manufacture 300,000 ten kilowatt Energy Catalyzer modules a year. It is unknown if the output will only be used to produce heat for the factory or if they plan to connect the output to a generator to provide for the electrical needs of the factory.

 

What companies are involved in this technology?

We only know of two main players at this time. The first is Leonardo Technologies Incorporated of Bedford , NH and Defkalion Green Technologies that is based in Athens , Greece . Defkalion is the company that will be managing the first one megawatt plant and has rights to the technology in all areas of the world except the United States .

 

Who is currently testing this technology?

A one year research program at the University of Bologna in Italy has recently started. This research program will test and study the technology in order to learn more about the exact phenomena taking place in the reactor. They will be performing many tests on the device including extended runs of several month duration in which the device will be constantly operating.

 

What proof do we have this technology works as claimed?

Andrea Rossi has used one of these devices to continually heat one of his factories for two years. In addition, recent publicized tests performed by third party scientists at the University of Bologna have verified that the output is far beyond any chemical reaction possible, that there are no hidden external sources of energy feeding the reactor, and that the output far exceeds the energy input. In one test, the device self sustained with no input for a period of time before the short experiment was ended. Another experiment allowed the reactor to run for 18 hours producing a constant average output of 15 kW utilizing only an average of 80 watts of input. Successful tests such as these have impressed scientists and have inspired the one year research program at the University of Bologna .

 

How "green" or ecologically friendly is this technology?

This technology is completely ecologically friendly or "green" in that it does not utilize any radioactive elements, does not produce any radioactive waste, and does not emit greenhouse gases or particulate matter that can cause breathing problems. Using the E-Cat to produce energy would be greener than burning fossil fuels to produce energy (oil, gas, or coal) and would be much greener than conventional nuclear power which is tremendously ecologically damaging. In addition, since so little nickel is needed and it is so common in the Earth's crust, there would be no need for drilling projects (like with oil and gas) that can harm the environment; and there would be no need for massive mining operations (like with coal).

 

How fuel efficient is the E-Cat?

It is very fuel efficient. One hundred grams of nickel and very little hydrogen can power a 10 kW reactor for six months. After six months, the remaining fuel can be extracted and 90% of the nickel can be recycled, reprocessed, and used again as fuel.

One gram of nickel can produce as much energy as 500 barrels of oil!

 

How does this technology compare to solar, wind, hydro-electric, geothermal, and other green technologies?

This technology may be more advantageous than any of those alternative energy sources. First of all, unlike hydro-electric or geothermal power, future variations of the E-Cat could be portable and used to power vehicles such as cars, boats, and airplanes. Also, even though wind and solar power can be used to power certain specialized vehicles, they cannot provide an energy source capable of powering a full sized ordinary vehicle.

Secondly, the power density of the E-Cat technology is much higher than these alternative energy sources. A reactor with one liter of volume can output at a minimum 10 kW of thermal power. This is a very low figure, and future enhancements of the system could allow for the full potential output of the system (130 kW and beyond) to be produced without safety risks.

Third, the E-Cat is simple to produce. It is made out of common components and materials. For example, solar cells can be complicated to manufacture and can require exotic materials. The E-Cat reactor vessel is composed of steel, lead, and boron.

 

Why was this technology not developed decades ago?

Thousands of successful cold fusion experiments have been performed around the world by hundreds of scientists over the last twenty years or so. However, the mainstream scientific community as a whole dismissed the experiments and discounted the possibility that nuclear reactions at low temperatures were occurring. Due to this, most scientists working on cold fusion have had to perform their research with shoestring budgets. This slowed down the progress of research. Meanwhile, the powers that be continued to give "hot fusion" reactors billions of dollars of funding despite all the positive cold fusion research taking place (that can be performed on 1/1000th the budget or less). This may become one of the biggest boondoggles in the history of the world. The difference with the Energy Catalyzer technology is that so much energy is produced there is no doubt by any sane person about its reality. Instead of putting out tens or hundreds of watts as in previous experiments on other cold fusion systems, the Energy Catalyzer produces tens or hundreds of kilowatts. Also, instead of using more expensive elements such as paladium, platnum, or tungsten as fuel the cheap element nickel is used. This makes the technology even more advantageous.

 

What economic potential does this technology create?

The E-Cat represents an opportunity for the world to do away with fossil and conventional nuclear fuels. Instead of mining for huge amounts of coal, drilling for oil, or building dangerous conventional nuclear fission power plants (using uranium or plutonium as fuel), small E-Cat devices can produce large amounts of energy wherever it is needed using only tiny amounts of hydrogen and nickel as fuel. This could be a big boost for economies struggling with increased energy costs. With oil approaching $100 dollars a barrel, a cheap source of energy that can replace oil could lead to widespread economic growth. Literally speaking, for only dollars worth of fuel, an E-Cat can produce as much energy as thousands of dollars worth of oil would produce.

In a world where jobs are hard to come by a technology that sparks a new industrial revolution could improve unemployment numbers. This technology will need to be implemented across the world very rapidly and this will require several factories to be opened that will need employees. Also, there will be a need for trained technicians that will re-fuel and provide maintenance to these devices.

 

When can I buy a unit for my home, and how much will one cost?

Defkalion Green Technologies is planning on opening a factory in October that will produce 300,000 units a year that will be sold in the Greek and Baltic markets. Other factories will most likely be opening in other parts of the world. Defkalion estimates that a reactor for your home would cost approximately 3500 Euros and the generator to convert the heat to electricity would cost an additional 1500 Euros. This is a very favorable price considering the massive energy and fuel savings an individual will reap after buying a unit. For example, an average home may use a few hundred dollars worth of electricity a month and may also pay substantial amounts of money for natural gas or fuel oil. In one year the unit could pay for itself. However, with any technology the cost will come down dramatically in time.

 

Could I use a certain quantity of electricity and sell the rest back to the electric company?

Absolutely. depending on your energy use. By selling the electricity you do not use back to the electric company, you could pay off your system more rapidly. After that period you could make a profit by owning an E-Cat. This scenario will require that the E-Cat have the necessary UL / CE certifications, which can take 12-24 months.

 

Does this technology have room for improvement?

Yes! This technology is already amazing and is a commercial ready technology. However, the E-Cat today is like the Model T car. In a few years it will be like a Porsche.

 

What can I do to help support this technology?

Spread the word about it! Tell others about Andrea Rossi and the E-Cat. Email your friends a link to this document or other information on the net about the E-Cat. Print out this FAQ and hand it out to family members, business associates, co-workers, church members, etc.

 

Source: PESN, Directory: Andrea A. Rossi's Cold Fusion Generator