United States Patent US 9,115,913 B1

Read the whole US Patent
Download the ZIP file of US Patent

40,372 comments to United States Patent US 9,115,913 B1

  • Andrea Rossi

    Vikram:
    Yes.
    Name: suggestions?
    Warm Regards
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Greg Vogtman:
    Hard to know.
    This morning we had important results, but we are very green.
    About the name, it will be Ecat followed by a suffix: suggestions?
    Warm Regards
    A.R.

  • Steven N. Karels

    Manuel cilia,

    What output ranges and costs do you project for small and medium size solar farms?

  • Greg Vogtman

    Dr Andrea Rossi,
    Do you think it will possible to see in operation the big single reactor within this year?
    Besides: did you already find a name?

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    Yes, PV is a source like any other for the Ecat.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    John C.Evans:
    I think all the existing sources must be integrated.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • John C Evans

    Dear Andrea:
    Following up on the Feb 25th Steven N. Karels questions and your responses. I can see the potential to replace the coal fired energy production but in a gradual progression with your modular designs. Take our local TVA production plant as an example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant . It has 9 modules operation between 175mw and 200mw. Do you foresee your quark-x units replacing such coal fired units one by one over time?
    Good luck and thank you.
    John C Evans

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    Will it be possible to drive one of your industrial E-Cats from a PV solar source?

    Best regards,

    Frank Acland

  • Dear Steven N. Karels

    Sorry about getting on my high horse but my specialty is small to medium solar farms with storage. The economic case for solar as the primary input to the Ecat is very feasible.
    If we assume a 30% efficiency for a small steam turbine and a COP of 200 for the Ecat a 1MW eCAT thermal output will generate 300kw of electrical power. Therefore we would need a solar/battery option the can produce 1Mw/200 x 24hr/day = 120Kwh energy from a solar PV system and a battery. As an example using a software program called HOMER if that system is in Sydney Australia (where I live) you would need a 42Kw PV system with a 450Kwh lithium battery, this will give you sufficient power 365 days per year.
    Of course these number will change according to where you live on Earth. The total cost for a system like this would be approx $400k to $500k

  • Andrea Rossi

    Toussaint Francois:
    I prefer for now not to give this number, because we are trying to raise it. But if it works, the improvement is substantial.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • TOUSSAINT François

    Dear Andrea Rossi,

    Are you able to tell the power output of this new E-Cat QX prototype ?

    Warm Regards,

    Toussaint françois

  • Vikram

    Dr Rossi,
    Will the new high power single reactor demand at least one year of tests to reach Sigma 5 as it happened with the QX? By the way, does it have already a name?
    Godspeed,
    Vikram

  • Steven N. Karels

    Manuel Cilia,

    I agree that a smaller power generation with more distributed locations to reduce transmission loss, and other effects are beneficial and the ultimate way to proceed. However, there are 1GW electrical power generation plants in existence burning coal, etc. One needs to think how those units will be converted to eCat technology. As Andrea has pointed out many times, an integrated approach is required.

    I analyzed the 1GW plant hypothetical because that is the worst case in terms of maintainability – a large amount of heat generated in a relatively confined area and the need to perform periodic maintenance while it is operating. I am also attempting to have Andrea consider solar as the source for his input and control power needs. But a more detailed economic analysis is needed. Something, I alone, cannot do.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    1- yes
    2- yes
    3- yes
    4- yes
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    So is the larger E-Cat QX prototype you are testing:

    1) Part of ongoing R&D?
    2) A possible next-generation industrial product?
    3) A possible next-generation domestic product?
    4) Will its testing be long-term, as with the Sigma 5 testing you did last year?

    Thank you if you are able to answer,

    Frank Acland

  • Andrea Rossi

    Steven N. Karels:
    Thank you for your insight,
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Manuel Cilia:
    Thank you for your suggestion.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    No.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Jerome:
    We started recently testing a prototype.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    From what you have commented regarding testing a higher power E-Cat QX, does this mean you will be abandoning the plans for the smaller reactors, thus requiring you to restart your designing of a commercial plants, and losing time?

    Best wishes,

    Frank Acland

  • It must be remembered that what makes a device like the Ecat so important is to decentralise the electricity network and produce power where it is needed. We need to stop thinking like the big power company, as they still have the mentality of coal fire and nuclear power station which create network concentration and create weak spots in the distribution of electricity. Keep the Ecats small and nibble, 1-10mw Ecats can change the way we distribute energy around the world. Sorry but I feel it is important.
    Again Dr Rossi thank you for your effects so far

  • Steven N. Karels

    Dear Andrea Rossi,

    So let’s look at a down-sized version…

    A 240kW steam powered turbine producing 200kW of electrical power. Assuming a Carnot efficiency of 40% means eCat reactor thermal power generation of 600kW. This requires 30,000 eCat reactors each capable of generating 20W. Assuming a module of 100 eCat reactors, each module produces 2kW of thermal power. So 300 modules would be required to produce the 600kW of thermal power (300 x 2kW = 600kW). Assume you distribute them into groups of 25 modules. So each group produces 50kW and there are 12 groups. The groups could be located on a 3 x 4 grid horizontally and maintenance done on a single group at a time so the overall output is only reduced by 8%. With twelve groups, it is likely the scheduled maintenance would be one group per month – remove and replace an entire group, likely a few hour task that could be done during non-peak load hours or scheduled downtime periods.

    Solar Analysis:

    Assume a COP of 100. 600kW times 24 hours per day / 100 = 144 kW-hr of storage. Call it 200kW-hr to accommodate inefficiencies. So, a solar farm around 40kW would likely provide enough energy to fully charge and supply the 200kW-hr capacity of the battery units, assuming only 5 hours of full sunlight per day (clouds, weather, latitude). The likely size of the solar array would be around 250 square meters.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Steve N.Karels:
    1- yes
    2- yes
    3- yes
    4- yes
    I am not designing plants with 2.5 GW of power, therefore I am not able to detail dimensional issues for such concerns; I am sure that for that order of magnitude it is not just a summatory we have to deal with.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Jerome

    Dr Andrea Rossi,
    Are you already testing a bigger module with a single reactor of at least 1 kW or more of power, or is it still on the paper?
    Godspeed,
    Jerome

  • Steven N. Karels

    Dear Andrea Rossi,

    Your maintainability concept, as I understand it, for customers who use a large number of eCat reactors, say in excess of 10,000 20W reactors, is to have groups of them changed out for maintenance (once a year, refueling, failures, etc.).
    1. Is this substantially correct?

    Given the high operating temperature, nearby groups of eCat reactors would make maintenance activities on a nearby grouping difficult and perhaps hazardous because of heat.
    2. Does this suggest a physical separation requirement for the various grouping to allow maintenance activity?

    If this is essentially true, and for a hypothetical 1GW electrical power generation station, about 2.5GW of thermal power would need to be generated (assuming a Carnot efficiency of 40%). Allowing an additional 10% capacity to accommodate simultaneous full power output operation and maintenance activities to occur, then about 138 million eCat 20W reactors would be needed. If the eCat 20W reactors were fabricated 100 each in a service module, each service module producing 2kW of thermal power, then about 1.38 million such service modules would be needed. And if grouping of 125 such service modules were within a group container, each group container would produce about 250kW of thermal power and there would be 11,000 such groupings. Conceptually, this would occupy a 2 dimensional matrix almost 110 x 100 of such groupings.
    3. Undoubtedly way too many assumptions but is the concept essentially correct?

    With 11,000 (or some similar number) of groupings, and with an annual maintenance call to each grouping unit, a typical day would see replacement of about 30 groupings or less than 1% of the total capacity down for scheduled maintenance at any one time. This level of scheduled maintenance suggests the 10% excess capacity to accommodate other maintenance activities is about correct.
    4. Is this consistent with your planned scheduled maintenance philosophy?

    Assuming the 110 x 100 matrix configuration, and assuming 1 cubic meter per grouping, assuming a 1 meter cube and with allowing 2 meters for service access between groupings suggests the entire 110 x 100 matrix would take up about 330m x 300m of land space or about 0.1 square kilometers of land or about 0.04 square miles or about 20 acres.

    Solar Cell Power for Driving the eCats: The eCat reactors are producing 2.5GW times 24 hours per day or 60GWhr per day of thermal energy. Assuming an effective COP of 100 means the average input power to run the plant will be on the order of 25MW. A 1MW solar farm requires about 4 acres of land so a 100 MW solar farm (assume the 100MW solar farm only operates about 1/4 of the time due to battery efficiencies, daylight and weather effects) would need about 400 acres. Assuming suitable battery capacity to store during darkness (night and storms) could be accommodated, you could have a 1GW electrical generation plant with zero average energy consumption (and a ton of assumptions on my part).

    Since you are feeding electrical power to a national grid, you could easily draw the control power from the same grid. This could be done all the time or you could draw power and store the power in local batteries to take advantage of lower electricity cost during non-peak hours. But it may make more economic and environmental sense to generate the control power from a different technology (gas, coal, wind or solar) as it makes little sense to divert your produced electricity or to buy someone else’s electricity to control the eCats.
    Your thoughts?

  • Andrea Rossi

    Gerard McEk:
    Gullstrom and I are still working on this issue and preparing new tests.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    Yes, it is where we are aiming to.
    This afternoon we are going to make a test of paramount importance in this direction. We are working very, very hard.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Gerard McEk

    Dear Andrea,
    I believe it was during the Stockholm test, you said that Gullström was preparing tests to check the theory. Did those tests take place and if so, did it confirm the theory?
    Thank you for answering our questions.
    Kind regards, Gerard

  • Andrea Rossi

    Anonymous:
    Yes.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    Is it possible that if you get larger higher power reactors working well, that they will be standard for powering E-Cat plants (instead of using small ones like used in the Stockholm demo)?

    Kind regards,

    Frank Acland

  • Andrea Rossi

    Olga:
    Thank you for your attention to our work.
    Please go to the video of the Carl-Oscar Gullstrom lecture from the ICA-Stockholm demo. You can also watch the 6 minutes summary of the whole presentation ( find both on http://www.ecat.com ). In both you will find the hint of the theory we are formulating. maybe it is wrong, but it fills up all the apparently gaps difficult to reconcile emerged from all the tests.
    By the way, the heat exchanger was shielded.
    Russia: can an object so important as the Ecat could be not be diffused in a Country as important as Russia? Yes, we had a patent granted from the Patent Office of Russia, and I am very proud of it.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    C:
    Yes, with very important progress.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Anonymous

    Dr Rossi,
    Are you applying for more patents after the new features of the Ecat QX?

  • Olga

    Dear Andrea Rossi,
    I am a nuclear engineer and I admire what you are doing, but I do not understand how you can shield ionizing radiations in a so small device as the one we saw during the IVA-Stockholm demonstration. Also Prof. Elizabeth Rachlew, chairman of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences- who attended the demonstration and, as I saw, observed very carefully your demo and eventually said in the interview published on the Aspenpost that you worked correctly- said that in those conditions necessarily radiations were emitted.
    Good luck for the industrialization and remember that in Russia your work is strongly appreciated: by the way, I saw that your technology has been granted a patent also in Russia: does this mean your intention is also to work in our Country?
    All the best,
    Olga

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    1- it will be possible for operators certified by us to do so
    2- several days
    3- low enough
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Vladimir:
    I know, I read his reports.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    Regarding the recharging:

    1. Will a Leonardo Corp. employee always have to change the E-Cats, or will it be possible for operators to do so (like we change our printer cartridges when they are depleted)?

    2. How long would a complete recharge of a 1MW plant take — (minutes, hours, days)?

    3. What do you expect to be the cost to refuel a 1 MW plant?

    Many thanks,

    Frank

  • C

    Dr Andrea Rossi,
    Are you still trying to male single reactors with a higher power, respect what we saw in the video of the Ecat demo at the IVA of Stockholm?
    Thank you if you can answer,
    C

  • Andrea Rossi

    Raffaele Bongo:
    We will change the Ecats, not the fuel, in the Customers’ factories. The reactors will be changed by lots, to maintain the the production. The plants will have an excess of reactors corresponding to the lots quantum. The charge will be changed in our closer point of assistance and eventually recycled.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Vladimir

    Dr Rossi,
    Dr Parkhomov not only has repeatedly now replicated the Lugano experiment in Russia, but also has measured analogous isotopical shifts.
    Vlad

  • Raffaele Bongo

    Dear A. Rossi Hello

    How long will a technician need to change the used combustible of the future E-Cat 1 MW with 25000 units?

    Sincerely,thank you and all my support for your wonderful work

    Raffaele

  • Andrea Rossi

    DT:
    I am honored from the replications and the attention from Russia.
    I work in safe conditions and the ionizing radiations emitted outside the Ecat do not overcome the safety limits beyond the background.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    SK:
    E=Mc^2
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    C.:
    Yes.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Marco:
    Thank you: we made it because not all have the pationce to go through the 4 hours of the global videos of the demo and the Gullstrom’s lecture…so a specialist made a 6 min summary with the core of it.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Andrea Rossi

    Frank Acland:
    That’s my dream.
    Warm Regards,
    A.R.

  • Frank Acland

    Dear Andrea,

    If you keep to your schedule will you have a product launch event in 2018?

    Many thanks,

    Frank Acland

  • Marco

    Dr Andrea Rossi,
    The 6 minutes summary of the Stockholm event linked on http://www.ecat.com is a jewel.
    Cheers,
    Marco

  • C.

    Dear Andrea,
    Will the Ecat QX be able to operate outdoor?

  • DT

    Dr Rossi:
    After the replication of Dr Parkhomov and their own replications of replications, the interest in Russia for your technology is growing up, as you have seen from the comment of Dr Uzikov. Somebody is warning about radiations: are you working in safe conditons?
    Warm Regards,
    DT

Leave a Reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>