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Brian Westenhaus

Brian Westenhaus

Brian is the editor of the popular energy technology site New Energy and Fuel. The site’s mission is to inform, stimulate, amuse and abuse the…

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Does Rossi's E-Cat Work? There is Only One Way to Find Out

The past few days have seen the Rossi E-Cat reported in both news and blogs, with still no definitive answer if the device actually works. The process of introducing the device to the market is stirring up lots of controversy.

So, how does one decide if the device is for real or not?  Go to Bologna with money in hand and buy one. If you need heat production cheap that’s a palatable answer.  Chances are you will get what you paid for.

This does not stop the controversy. The story now is the controversy itself. Some, one Steven Krivits who is now out in front, are making claims that seem every bit as misleading as a fraudster’s.  That sort of personal choice is using an earned station to attract more attention. There should be a calculated risk in Krivits’ position – that a proof of E-Cat failure would bring some appreciation, or that a success would bring derision. Without personal acquaintance with Krivits one cannot know the motivation. A certainty is Krivits opinion isn’t better informed than anyone else, thus his opinion is worthless.

Al Fin, Bless ‘em, said, “It is fascinating that so many people want to put themselves on record on either one side or the other, when the obvious rational thing for most people — most outsiders — to do is to wait for more information. Unless you have money or reputation on the line here, there is no need to declare a strong opinion one way or the other — if you have no inside knowledge.”

The closely watching reporters are offering news that Mr. Rossi has sold more units. The buyer’s names are also being kept quiet.  Whether or not the sales have consummated is of little consequence, what matters are the E-Cats get installed, run and after a few months the customers are happy. Obviously customers are not looking for public relations expenses dealing with hounding questioners, they seek low cost heat.  There will be plenty of time later to bask in leadership to a new energy economy. When the credibility threshold is mounted, a company will want to be there with an E-Cat system running.

There is also the prospect that some firms will buy an E-Cat both for the leadership opportunity as well as the energy savings. That sets up the prospect that the definitive proof won’t come from Rossi or a proponent – we may hear of a firm whose E-Cat experience meets or exceeds that original specification. Perhaps that will accompany a new lower priced better product.

That kind of scenario isn’t going to make world headlines.  It will sell lots of E-Cats, which is the whole point.  Customers will be a step closer to more cost competitive goods, and the competition will have to adapt.

All this simply puts facility managers, planners and designers on notice. What those folks need to get done is to get on the list at Rossi’s firm and start the process of getting past the defensive wall there to be on the inside for the due diligence needed for assessing the risks and costs for buying an E-Cat for a plant. Heaven forbid a competitor getting one first, especially if the process heat an E-Cat makes is a major cost in production expense.

There is little prospect that there will be a major world headline one day that says “The Rossi E-Cat Works!”

But there is getting to be very high probabilities that one day soon we’ll be able to buy stuff made with E-Cats providing the manufacturing energy.

The greatest interest is the one-megawatt E-Cat specifications. That would do more than anything to push the progress along. We’ll need to know a lot more than making one megawatt, what the temps are, the state of the heat, the rates, required supplies, and all the other bits that make an informed decision.

That’s what to look for.  And your humble writer is very interested is seeing them.

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By. Brian Westenhaus

Source: How to Know if the Rossi E-Cat is Real


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  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    Very good article with sound advice. I have been following this story for a couple of months and have basically given up trying to determine if this is real or a fraud. If it's a fraud...well, we've been down this road numerous times. If it's real, I truly believe it will have a major impact on the world within the next 10 years. More than anything, I would to read a paper from the physics world on how this LENR actually works.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    @MichaelGoochThere are very few peer reviewed papers concerning LENR because it is a suped up name for cold fusion. What Dr. Rossi has done with his E-Cat is, IMHO, a perversion of science and of the methods it employs. If Dr. Rossi truly has discovered a new form/method of energy production, he should have submitted a paper to a peer reviewed scientific journal for examination and scrutiny. His results should have also been 3rd party retested to check for reproducibility. Without either of these, we must err of the side of extreme skepticism. The "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" black box approach to his displays is a slap in the face to all. Especially if the research done into the E-Cat was funded by a publicly endowed entity (the U.S. has the NSF and DOE, other countries have equivalents), in which case, the work belongs to the public, not to Mr. Rossi. If he's looking to make a dime, submit a paper, get reviewed, win the Nobel prize.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    What people are not acknowledging is that this path to market is the same path that Bloom Energy took. Discovery, then Secrecy, take in some private capital, sell several working products to customers, and then in time a media expose. Then churn out products bigger and more improved after live testing.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    Excellent article - one of the best yet. No one knows for certain if this is true (except Rossi) but only a fool would dismiss it out of hand given the mountain of circumstantial evidence. I logged some of the salient facts in two briefs at http://www.ecatnews.com for those who want a quick primer. The first covers LENR (cold fusion) and the second Rossi's eCat.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    [quote name="Matthew Beck"]@MichaelGoochThere are very few peer reviewed papers concerning LENR because it is a suped up name for cold fusion. What Dr. Rossi has done with his E-Cat is, IMHO, a perversion of science and of the methods it employs. If Dr. Rossi truly has discovered a new form/method of energy production, he should have submitted a paper to a peer reviewed scientific journal for examination and scrutiny.[/quote]I think we've already seen just how open the scientific community is toward giving such a "cold fusion" device a fair and impartial review.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    Rossi's Ecat has never been properly and independently tested. The buyer is unknown and for all anyone knows is simply a friend of Rossi's who's pretending to buy it.It is way premature to assume that Rossi has tamed cold fusion. He could prove it easily with an independent test that takes two weeks but he's refused to do so in nine months of inadequate "demos".As for Paul Story, he censors his blog by banning critics and limiting the ones he keeps to five posts a day. Believers can post any nonsense they like without limit. That's how confident and brave he is.This article is dreadful and should never have seen the light of day. Do your homework for a change!
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    Sorry, maryyugo, you don't know that. Now granted, Rossi's E-Cat "has never been properly and independently tested" to your satisfaction, but that in no way implies Rossi hasn't performed tests that convinces him and his customers as to the validity of his claims. You're just simply "out of the loop". So you have absolutely no way to state that "It is way premature to assume that Rossi has tamed cold fusion". First, an assumption can be based on a number of things--it is not necessarily a condition of that argument that you can state he hasn't--you simply don't know. And I don't care if you refute this statement--this is primarily to contrast your opaque vision with something far more plausible.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    And maryyugo, as far as Paul Story, he has every right to censor his blog; apparently you've been censored a number of times or you wouldn't mention displeasure, but that's his prerogative. Why don't you host a blog so you can do with it what you want? But to impugn his motives and belittle his courage can only be described in the worst way possible: In typical "maryyugo style". (Are you really surprised he bans you from posting or limits your comments?)As for the validity of this article, it is indeed NOT dreadful (are you contrary in everything?) You cast aspersions on a well-thought-out analysis that is basically "wait and see". That's a great idea; it's common sense! You have no absolute knowledge that Rossi's invention is real, and you have no absolute knowledge that Rossi's invention is not real (otherwise you wouldn't be constantly clamoring for "proper and independent testing", right?) So we'll just wait and see.
  • Anonymous on November 02 2011 said:
    Sorry, Matthew Beck--Rossi's not in it to win a Nobel (a less than prestigious award considering recent past recipients). He's in it to make money and change the world, and the way he's doing it is consistent with those goals.
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    There are any number of less than boiling geothermal electric power stations that can be used to verify these clams. Just replace the hot water supply and see if it can supply the hot water for 6 months without shut down.
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    [quote name="Rockyspoon"] So you have absolutely no way to state that "It is way premature to assume that Rossi has tamed cold fusion". [/quote]That's only true if you don't speak English. Evidence for the ecat is lacking so it is premature to assume it works. Obviously, for those privileged to have seen evidence, this doesn't apply. That hardly requires an explicit qualification. But as you say yourself, you're just quibbling for the sake of it.
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    1)I am curious what would stop a customer of an e-cat to dis-asemble it in order to find out the secret catalyst. 2)Those that are critical of Rossi for not going through the typical peer review method are not taking into effect that although it appears to work, scientist are still not sure WHY or HOW it works. It has become a sort of psudo-science that many scientists have regeted. Because of this I think Rossi's plan to let the product "sell itself" isn't a bad plan at all. We will all soon know if it is real, or an elaborate hoax.
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    [quote name="Matthew Beck"]@MichaelGoochThere are very few peer reviewed papers concerning LENR because it is a suped up name for cold fusion. What Dr. Rossi has done with his E-Cat is, IMHO, a perversion of science and of the methods it employs. If Dr. Rossi truly has discovered a new form/method of energy production, he should have submitted a paper to a peer reviewed scientific journal for examination and scrutiny.[/quote]This is horrible advice. Pons and Fleichmann tried this in 1989 and the powers that be crucified them. The stuff works, but it's reality was very inconvenient for many people's budgets. The technology was practically mothballed and forced to progress on a shoestring budget for 20 years. You're doing it right Rossi!
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    "So, how does one decide if the device is for real or not? Go to Bologna with money in hand and buy one."Really? Who has ever done that and come back with one. Name a SINGLE person or company who has an E-cat other than Rossi and his mysterious and anonymous (and quite possibly FICTITIOUS) client?The way to know the E-cat is real is easy. It's to get an INDEPENDENT test. That's all. No huge ugly kludge that requires a 500 kW generator running to make 470 kW of power for a lousy 4 hours is needed. Did you know that's what happened at Rossi's big recent reveal? Well it is. And nobody knows who the client was or even if there was really a client.Awe inspiring? I think not.
  • Anonymous on November 03 2011 said:
    [quote name="Matthew Beck"]@MichaelGoochIf Dr. Rossi truly has discovered a new form/method of energy production, he should have submitted a paper to a peer reviewed scientific journal for examination and scrutiny. His results should have also been 3rd party retested to check for reproducibility.[/quote]Lots of people keep demanding this and that rigorous proof. Get it straight, Rossi is not an academic - he is an engineer/businessman and his concern isn't to please the scientific establishment - or you. Don't believe in this if you don't feel it's for real, it's no skin of Rossi's back.
  • Anonymous on November 04 2011 said:
    Dr Rossi and his admirers should not be dismissed. Instead they should be candidates for alternative Nobel Prizes for attracting the attention and admiration of so many fools and losers. Eveerywhere we turn these days we get solutions of some sort to our energy problems, while existing optimal solutions are found deficient.
  • Anonymous on November 04 2011 said:
    Using LENR nickel is about half a million times as energy dense as oil. Since 3% of the mass of the Earth is nickel, the mass is more than all the oil, coal, natural gas, and hydrate combined.In other words a super tanker full of oil is about the same energy as a ton of nickel. The nickel in a nickel is the energy equivalent of about 5 barrels of oil. Nickel is about 8 $/lb now.It is clean, with no nuclear material going in, and none coming out.By the way, here is a current survey of all the companies that are bringing LENR to commercialization: http://www.cleantechblog.com/2011/08/the-new-breed-of-energy-catalyzers-ready-for-commercialization.html
  • Anonymous on November 11 2011 said:
    Thinking that peer reviewed papers would or wouldn't validate Rossi's eCat.Science is the knowledge of 0.0001% of all there is to be founded & of all there still remains to be understood.Most of technologies used by humanity has been discovered because of chance or by accident. Then some gray eminences explained a bit of it all, many times after for the most of it.Nor the future of or science nor the future of or technologies belong to peer sleepers.Nor to narrow-minded.It has been confirmed that eCat first customer is National Instrument (see http://www.ni.com/company/ ), a 40 worldwide company based in Austin, Texas, US.Better sales representative for eCat will be its customers themselves, if satisfied...So please joyless skeptics : shut, wait and see together...

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