The E-Cat, or Energy Catalyser, is an alleged cold fusion reactor invented by Andrea Rossi. While many researchers claim to have produced small quantities of excess heat using nickel and hydrogen, Rossi claims he can produce kilowatts and his technology is ready for industry. Rossi's claims are far-fetched, but the E-Cat refuses to go away. Now it appears to have been not only verified, but replicated. Should we start taking Rossi seriously?

Rossi's style is striptease: punters are led on with big promises, followed by obsessive secrecy and occasional fleeting glimpses. He addresses the world only via statements in idiosyncratic English in the comments section of his web page, the grandly and misleadingly-titled Journal of Nuclear Physics. Scientists have never been allowed to examine the E-Cat, details of the supposed physics have never been revealed, and even the identities of his US business partners were only discovered by online sleuthing.

Given his keep-'em-waiting approach, few believed Rossi's repeated assertions over the years that an independent scientific study of the E-Cat really was on the way. Amazingly enough, in October a report appeared authored by, among others, researchers from the University of Uppsala and University of Bologna. Even more astoundingly, it was completely positive.


The Lugano Report details how, for the length of a 32-day continuous run, a 900-watt electrical input produced 2,800 watts of heat from the reactor. The 20-cm long E-Cat was run for an extended period to prove that the energy could not be produced by hidden batteries or other sources: "The total net energy obtained during the 32 days run was about 1.5 MWh. This amount of energy is far more than can be obtained from any known chemical sources in the small reactor volume."

Further, the isotopic composition of the nickel powder had changed: "The isotope composition in Lithium and Nickel was found to agree with the natural composition before the run, while after the run it was found to have changed substantially. Nuclear reactions are therefore indicated to be present in the run process".

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The report was promptly savaged by sceptics, pointing out that Rossi was present for the test and questioning how independent it was. Steven B. Krivit, editor of New Energy Times, headlined his account "Rossi Handles Samples in Alleged Independent Test of His Device".

The arguments about the Lugano Report continue, meanwhile there has been an even more surprising development. Prof Alexander Parkhomov of Lomonosov Moscow State University has published a paper describing his successful replication of the E-Cat, based on the available information about it. The paper is in Russian; there is a link and commentary and video in English on E-Cat World. Parkhomov's results are more modest, but the energy output of his cloned E-Cat claimed to be up to 2.74 times as great as the input.


Parkhomov presented his results earlier this week at a cold fusion seminar at the Research Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Operation in Moscow.

Rossi has always maintained that his design would be hard to copy and harder to control. Parkhomov provides images of a half a dozen prototype E-Cats which have been destroyed by localised overheating: the container is made of alumina because of its ability to tolerate high temperatures, but if the reaction is uneven it may get hot enough to burn through.

Independent US researcher Jack Cole also claims to have reverse-engineered the E-Cat and produced 11 percent excess heat, though he does not have the status and credibility of the Russian scientist.

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A key aspect of Parkhomov's work is that it is entirely open. "Parkhomov has openly revealed his reactor design, ingredients used and experimental process, which is not terribly complex, and this allows for further experimentation to take place in the public domain, not under a cloak of secrecy," says Frank Acland of E-Cat World. "If someone now replicates Parkhomov's work, I don't think anyone can rationally deny that Rossi has what he has always claimed."

The Martin Fleischmann Memorial Project is now working with Parkhomov on its opensource E-Cat replication called "Project Dog Bone," having previously failed to produce excess heat.

Rossi appears unconcerned. He congratulates Parkhomov, but says his own work is way ahead: "We are close to go commercial massively. I think now is too late to catch us [sic]."


None of this is likely to bother sceptics in the global energy market, though there are signs of panic among conspiracy theorists.

Russian media has repeated a rumour that President Obama discussed Chinese E-Cat production under licence with Xi Jinping in his recent visit, a move that might destroy Russia's vital energy exports.

If Parkhomov's work can be copied, the Chinese may not need a licence. It is a big "If"; whether any of this is real is still very much open for debate and unlikely to be settled soon. Expect to hear more on the E-Cat.