Last night (I apologize I don't have the link), I ran across a very long article someone had put together analyzing the E-cat from the assumption that there is a battery or other hidden power source. They went through a list of 'high-energy density' possibilities (hydrogen, Lithion-ion battery, diesel, etc.) and ruled out almost all of them. Something exotic (like burning boron or something) was the only thing that could explain the Feb. 10 test, IIRC.
I'm still seeing a lot of skepticism, but nothing robust in terms of debunking this and with no smoking guns. Most of the criticisms are circumstantial in nature (complaining about something in Rossi's past, or about some advisor, etc.) which has nothing to do with the hardware involved and the tests.
I'm not saying I'm fully convinced, but Rossi and Focardi are not engaging in a sales pitch with these things or making any obvious attempt to scam anyone of money. The work to demonstrate a 1 MW reactor in Greece will be the real test. If it proves out, I hope they are ready for the incredible tsunami of interest that results. I can't begin to enumerate the ways this would change the world, from the global collapse of utilities (why buy power off-site if you can have an E-cat in place of your furnace and water heater) to the all-too-just collapse of Middle East oil economies.
The paper Rossi and Focardi wrote about their reactor has been rejected by multiple peer-reviewed journals (and when it was finally published it was published in a journal they made).
(It probably doesn’t help that Rossi has been accused of a few crimes, including tax fraud and illegally importing gold.)
http://www.motherboard.tv/2011/1/25/is-cold-fusion-real-not-yet
Rossi Discovery – What to Say?
http://blog.newenergytimes.com/2011/01/15/rossi-discovery-what-to-say/
“Pay close attention to Andrea Rossi; he has a dirty past. Twenty years ago he was arrested for illegal importing of gold from the Swiss.
“Not only that, but in the 1980s he was involved in a scam with industrial waste. It is a complex thing to explain, but the scam cost the Lombardy region € 25 million. He honestly does not convince me as a person, and I am not convinced about the test done at Bologna today.
“Check this link: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroldragon
“In friendship, I suggest you be careful, I smell something burning.”
According to the link, in 1995, Rossi was jailed for conspiracy to engage in tax fraud for his involvement in a business that was trading precious materials between Switzerland and Italy.
” If it proves out, I hope they are ready for the incredible tsunami of interest that results.”
Well, the Chinese will just license and steal it.