Cold fusion reborn
Introduction
Cold fusion was a hype in 1989, then dipped into the underground only to resurface recently. Now the whole world is working on it, including NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Mitsubishi, India, China, Russia, etc. but the media is still keeping it under wraps. Why? A major reason may be that while it is yielding results, there is no clear theory yet. Promising results in the labs, but no commercial products yet. Actually a very simple device, but extremely difficult production and control. Major problems with control and certification. Yet two factories are now being built by ABB for mass production. How will the world energy industry react?
Fission and fusion
Traditional nuclear power is the SPLITING of BLACK atoms (Uranium etc.) There are currently about 448 nuclear power plants in operation on Earth and about 224 in planning/construction
Fusion is the FUSHING of LIGHT atoms (Hydrogen, Deuterium, Helium etc.). Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and only then is a lot of energy released. But the energy released in fusion is much more per nucleon (=proton or neutron) than in fission. See figure 1.
Fusion is not yet normal on Earth, but it is in space. Sun and all other stars!
History
In March 1989, 2 scholars, Martin Fleischmann & Stanley Pons, gave a press conference. They were said to have made nuclear fusion. However, it could not be reproduced and nobody understood what was happening. Therefore, it was not believed.
In October 2011, Andrea Rossi came up with the E-Cat (Energy Catalyser). In a small shipping container a large number of small units, which would handle nuclear fusion. In hot hydrogen, nickel is converted into copper. But he was not granted a patent because his invention was an "offend against the generally accepted laws of physics and established theories". A big problem with a patent is that you have to describe everything accurately. And then it can be copied. Just check that. Rossi also had some other problems with government and lawsuits. Another dead end. Nevertheless, Rossi is still active and the system is now called LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reaction).
But in March 2014, a good test was done in Lugano and 1.5 MWh could be produced in 32 days. The unit looks like a small "dogbone" (dog bone). There is interest from Stanford Research Institute (Rudy studied at Stanford University), from US Navy, NASA and MIT. See e-catworld.com. ABB produces the small units, but may only be supplied to OEMs as part of other products, so not yet to individuals. Rossi gave another public conference on 24 November 2017, which is on the Internet.
The firms BLP (Brilliant Light Power) and Brioullin are also working on it, but are very discreet.
Future
Should this system start working, it will be a huge revolution:
ECAT benefits:
- No radioactive radiation/waste
- No CO2 production
- No large infrastructure/transports
- Ni, H and Li cheap and dispersible
- Reactor replacement every 6-12 months
- Fuel 98% recyclable
Global impact:
1. Fossil fuels: oil, (shale) gas, coal
2. Exploration, extraction, transport, processing, distribution
3. Nuclear power plants (can ECAT replace current reactor?)
4. (Ship) transport, aircraft, (truck) cars
5. Power plants and (networks)
6. CO2 reduction/mitigation if REALLY necessary (?)
7. Freshwater production, agriculture (manure production)
8. Windmills, solar panels etc.
9. (Geo-)Politics
10. Economy, workplaces
11. Science, e.g. ITER, NASA .....
12. Etc.
Description
Cold fusion was a hype in 1989, then dipped into the underground only to resurface recently. Now the whole world is at it, including NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Mitsubishi, India, China, Russia etc. but the media is still keeping it under wraps. Why? A major reason may be that while it is yielding results, there is no clear theory yet. Promising results in the labs, but no commercial products yet. Actually a very simple device, but extremely difficult production and control. Major problems with control and certification. Yet two factories are now being built by ABB for mass production. How will the world energy industry react?
Speaker(s)
The speaker is Rudy Meiner, a Swiss physicist formerly working at ESTEC. The working language is Dutch.
Location
Organiser
Region North-Holland
Name and contact details for information
Guus van Ditzhuijzen