Rossi's Self Sustaining One Megawatt Reactor

J

jficquette

Only a matter of time before something like this becomes viable.

>>Almost everyone in the alternative energy community is aware of Andrea Rossi's cold fusion based E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) technology. It is a game changer that allows vast amounts of energy to be produced by inducing a nuclear fusion process between small quantities of nickel powder and hydrogen gas. Instead of the reaction taking place in a gigantic multi-billion dollar experimental reactor, it takes place in a device that can fit on a table top. This technology seems to be everything to be hoped for in a revolutionary new source of energy to replace fossil fuels -- safe, cheap, environmentally friendly, and inexhaustible.<<


http://pesn.com/2011/07/21/9501874_Rossis_Self_Sustaining_One_Megawatt_Reactor/
 
Thx for posting this, J. Cold fusion seems to be "heating" up all of a sudden. In addition to Rossi's claim of having a plant ready later this year, two other groups claim they could have CF products in the market within two years. This is a lot of progress considering the scarcity of funding for this field, don't you think?
 
The reason so many people doubt Cold Fusion is because there hasn't been a single major, jaw dropping scale, technological advance/acheivement since people walked on the moon in 1969. The advance of technology has been almost painfully incremental in nature. A single CPU core for a desktop computer is only about twica as fast as cores from 6 or 7 years ago. Missions to Mars still have to float with no thrust for 6 months to orbit capture because there have been no useful advancements in space propulsion. Household appliances might be a little more efficient but they still work about the same as they did years ago. Automobiles have fuel efficiencies that are only a little better than vehicles 10 years ago. Entertainment technology has made the biggest advances. But, watching a movie, watching TV, playing games, or idle chatter on the phone are not productive activities either now or in the past. I had broadband internet over 10 years ago so it is nothing new. And, of course, the slowest advances have been in the energy sector.

The reason for this is consumerism. If something a little better comes out, many consumers, who feel the need to keep up, will abandon or give away the item they just bought to have the latest and greatest.

This attitude applies to Cold Fusion in general, and Rossi in particular, because people are just no longer conditioned to believe that there can be great technological advances that "skip over" steps. Rossi seems to claim that his device can sell electricity at $0.01 per kwh and heat at ~ $0.003 per kwh. These numbers are at least a factor of 5 lower than what utilities charge today, whether you look at retail or wholesale. And keep in mind this is Rossi's first version of the device. Future versions should be better.

People won't believe that a device will cut their energy costs by a factor of five until they see it on their bills with their own eyes. People are so used to items being a little better, if better at all, than what came out last year, that a factor of 5 or more improvement overnight would be mind blowing.

Note: The CF people still have to prove their tech works but I'm leaning towards believing it does work.
 
Quote from jficquette:

Only a matter of time before something like this becomes viable.

>>Almost everyone in the alternative energy community is aware of Andrea Rossi's cold fusion based E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) technology. It is a game changer that allows vast amounts of energy to be produced by inducing a nuclear fusion process between small quantities of nickel powder and hydrogen gas. Instead of the reaction taking place in a gigantic multi-billion dollar experimental reactor, it takes place in a device that can fit on a table top. This technology seems to be everything to be hoped for in a revolutionary new source of energy to replace fossil fuels -- safe, cheap, environmentally friendly, and inexhaustible.<<


http://pesn.com/2011/07/21/9501874_Rossis_Self_Sustaining_One_Megawatt_Reactor/
More...

I could be wrong, but your post has vaporware written all over it...
 
Well, there has been some not positive news regarding this Rossi invention. See the link below.

http://pesn.com/2011/08/08/9501889_Defkalion_Responds_Ignores_Rossis_Accusation/

Seems like the agreement was terminated between Rossi and the company that was supposed to participate in the rollout of the tech.

From reading the statements by both parties above, and comparing the situation to similar ones involving startups which claim they have disruptive, breakthrough technology, I've developed a certain opinion as to what might be happening.

In my opinion, which could be completely wrong, the investors and financers of the company that was working with Rossi are having doubts that the technology (cold fusion) actually works. Before they invested 10's or 100's of millions of dollars into the ecat, they demanded rigorous tests of the e-cat independent of Rossi and Rossi's team. For whatever reason, Rossi balked at delivering an ecat for independent testing or having an ecat tested without involvement of his team. The company said no money without independent testing. Rossi decided to terminate the agreement. This scenario is just an opinion I developed on this.

As posters on a forum, it is easy for us to believe what we want as we don't have significant sums of money invested in our beliefs. For venture capitalists, the burden of proof is much higher. There is no way someone will invest a 7 or 8 figure sum in Rossi's device without near 100% proof it works like it should. For example, there are engineering reports/specification sheet packages for devices much simpler than the ecat that are well over 100 pages long. And those data packages have to be approved by multiple independent parties before they are even accepted. I just don't see the same level of technical rigor in the results shown by Rossi's team for the ecat. If this scenario, in my opinion, of Rossi's not allowing the financers to
perform an independent, rigorous, technical review of the ecat before delivering money is correct, the financers made the right choice to withhold money.

Now, Rossi seems to claim an undisclosed American company wants to buy ~ 1000 1MW heat plants. So, one of two things will happen: 1) Rossi will once again not allow the company to perform independent testing of the ecat with the result being this deal is also called off, or 2) Rossi allows the American company to perform independent testing of the ecat. The ecat works as advertised and Rossi signs a huge deal to deliver the first cold fusion power plants to an American company.

The preceding is just my opinion on these latest developments.
 
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