Cold fusion conference raises hopes of tabletop energy supply
SCIENCE 24 JULY 13 by DAVID HAMBLING
A conference on cold fusion at the University of Missouri continues until 26 July but nothing in it is likely to top a live demonstration of a device apparently producing kilowatts of heat on 23 July.
The flamboyant Andrea Rossi, who did much to revive public interest in this field, is conspicuous by his absence. Depending on your viewpoint, Rossi is either in line for a Nobel, or clown-in-chief of the cold fusion circus. Rossi prefers to let the market decide whether his E-Cat LENR generator is real; he received a major boost a few months back when a group of scientists concluded that his device really did produce over 1.5 kilowatts of excess heat. Since then Rossi has continued to make extravagant claims which cannot be verified; he says he is in partnership with a major US company who have started manufacturing their own E-Cats. In secret.
In the absence of Rossi's showmanship, the limelight belongs to his former business partners Defkalion Green technologies. Originally based in Greece, the company relocated to Vancouver in Canada with a "European R&D Centre" in Milan. Its generator is known as Hyperion; the standard version has nine modules in parallel producing 45 kilowatts total. It uses a few grams of powdered Nickel loaded with hydrogen gas. Defkalion claims its design is more stable than Rossi's with less risk of burn-out and power failure.
The demonstration was streamed live from Milan and watched online by about a thousand people. Few would have had the dedication to watch the entire nine-hour run, but the demonstration had to run long enough to prove that power was not coming from hidden batteries. Defkalion says it has run its reactor for up to six months in the past, but of course this has not been verified.
Mats Lewan acted as an independent observer of the Defkalion demonstration; he gives a full account on his blog. His view is that is appears to be genuine, producing 5.5 kilowatts of heat from a 2.7-kilowatt input. The input and output measurements all appear legitimate, but it's difficult to rule out concealed power wires or other clever forms of cheating. Lewan reports a claim by Defkalion's President, Alex Xanthoulis, that the company is collaborating with various international partners and "several of these companies are among the ten major companies in the world".
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/...24/cold-fusion