Italian inventor Andrea Rossi and Emeritus Professor Dr. Sergio Focardi (Physics University Bologna) have worked together for two years to bring the first iteration of a new energy source to the public. Referred to as Low Energy Nuclear Reaction, this type of operation produces sustainable energy with no nuclear radiation, dangerous chemicals or pollution.
On October 28th Rossi/Focardi demonstrated the operation of a 1 megawatt “reactor” that ran on its own power for nearly 5 hours. The prototype reactor, called the E-Cat, was then sold to an anonymous customer for an undisclosed price. Rossi claims he will begin manufacturing reactors immediately and has apparently sold two or more.
A cheap source of heat could replace millions of wood and coal burning fires, and desalinate billions of tons of seawater for Africa. It could replace our hot water heaters and provide near-free electricity to homes. In short, this form of energy could change our world for the better.
[CORRECTION: A previous version of the story stated that Rossi did not have a patent.] Rossi has been issued a patent by the Italian Patent Office which is enforceable throughout the world via UN Signatory Charter and international patent law. It is reluctance on the part of the US Patent Office to grant a patent that has likely caused Mr. Rossi to be particularly protective of his intellectual property.
NOTE: Although the MSNBC article below calls the process “cold fusion”, physicists have not confirmed this effect to be an accepted fusion process, so the headline has also been corrected.
(READ the article in MSNBC)