Nov. 10, 2012 – By Steven B. Krivit –

An October 2012 report issued by the Electric Power Research Institute, in Palo Alto, Calif., “Assessment of Fusion Energy Options for Commercial Electricity Production,” states that commercial fusion power is not likely for at least 30 years.

The conclusion of the report is that, “although significant progress is being made in many areas, commercial application is not likely for at least 30 years — if the concepts prove feasible.”

Dr. Robert Park, former spokesman for the American Physical Society, was quoted about hot fusion research in The Rebirth of Cold Fusion, by Steven B. Krivit and Nadine Winocur.

“It turned out to be much harder than we thought,” Park said, “but they make steady progress. It’s not spectacular progress, but the joke is it’s the energy source of the future and it always will be, because they’re constantly giving you an estimate of how many years before we have controlled fusion reactors in business and it doesn’t happen.” Continue reading »

Oct. 24, 2012 – By Steven B. Krivit –

Steven Featherstone’s article “Can Andrea Rossi’s Infinite-Energy Black Box Power The World – Or Just Scam It?” published yesterday online on the Popular Science Web site.

“Silverbird” wrote the following astute one-sentence comment in response on the Popular Science Web site: “Why did this BS require 8 pages?”

Indeed, it is a peculiar story, not for its content but for its timing.

Featherstone contacted me on June 19 this year.

“I came across your site while researching a feature story about ‘cold fusion,’ or LENR as it were, and Andrea Rossi in particular,” Featherstone wrote. “I’m new to the subject of cold fusion, so it’s been quite an uphill battle separating fact from fiction, especially with material found on the Web, most of which appears to be fiction. Your skepticism about Rossi’s claims, while not rare, seems more informed than most and certainly well-documented. In fact, I’ve ordered your book and plan to read it ASAP. Continue reading »

Andrea Rossi. Image courtesy Mats Lewan

Oct. 11, 2012 – By Steven B. Krivit –

In 2011, Andrea Rossi, a convicted criminal with a string of failed energy ventures in his past, sought media attention and credibility for a device he said could produce extraordinary levels of low-energy nuclear reaction-based excess heat. To a certain degree, his device appeared to copy the work of Francesco Piantelli. Piantelli is a retired professor of physics from the University of Sienna in Italy and has a long history of credible, published LENR research.

On June 14 and 15, 2011, I was in Bologna, Italy, interviewing Rossi and filming his Energy Catalyzer device. I also interviewed his colleague, Sergio Focardi, professor emeritus at the University of Bologna Physics Department, whom Rossi had befriended. I also interviewed Giuseppe Levi, a professor of physics at the University of Bologna.

I have just published transcript excerpts from my video interviews of Rossi, Focardi and Levi. We produced these transcripts many months ago with the help of several New Energy Times readers, but I had forgotten to publish them until now. Continue reading »