On the Precipice Of a New Energy Source?

Guest Editorial • On the Precipice Of a New Energy Source? Steve Jacobs, COO, and Patrick Leach, CEO, Decision Strategies, and David J. Nagel, CEO, NUCAT Energy

Steve Jacobs is chief operating officer of Decision Strategies and has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. His specialty is evaluating market opportunities for new and existing technologies and companies. He earned BS degrees in psychology and education from Oklahoma State University. Jacobs is an energy information ambassador for SPE. He moderates and lectures at numerous events around the world.

Patrick Leach is chief executive officer of Decision Strategies. He is a recognized expert in risk management and decision making in the face of uncertainty, and has published and presented numerous papers on these subjects. He is the author of Why Can't You Just Give Me the Number, an executive's guide to using probabilistic thinking to manage risk and make better decisions. Leach earned a BS degree in geomechanics from the University of Rochester and an MBA degree from the University of Houston.

David J. Nagel is chief executive officer of NUCAT Energy.Previously, he was a member of the senior executive service and leader of the physics division at the US Naval Research Laboratory, where he managed experimental and theoretical research and development efforts. He has also been a research professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at George Washington University with a focus on low energy nuclear reactions. He received a BS degree in engineering science, an MS degree in physics, and a PhD in materials engineering.

In the late 1850s, the whaling industry was in a veritable boom in the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Business was great, and many in the whaling industry believed that increased demand would continue for decades to come. But in 1859, oil was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania with a well drilled by Edwin Drake. The rest is history.

That was 150 years ago. A small but increasing number of people around the world believe we are on a similar course, except this time it is the petroleum industry that might be threatened. As with any emerging technology, critical challenges must be overcome and a significant effort lies ahead to convince a world of skeptics that a new source of energy has been discovered and will be important.

The potential new source of energy is low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR). With any discussion of a new technology, caution is advised. The world of LENR is filled with mystery, contradiction, gross speculation, misinformation, slippery timelines, and skepticism that sometimes spill over into outright denial. Healthy skepticism on LENR (or any new technology) is a good thing, but so is an open mind. If LENR is for real—and many well-qualified physicists believe it is—it will not only change the petroleum industry, but also significantly affect almost every aspect of our world. Some call it "the new fire."

In 1989 at the University of Utah, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announced they had discovered a cold fusion process that would ultimately result in cheap, limitless energy. The outcome from these cold fusion efforts became widely known and well documented, primarily because other researchers were unable to replicate the results from the initial experiments. Cold fusion was (and is) viewed as impossible by many in the scientific community. Although the research did not cease, it was largely ignored.For the past 20-plus years, a small number of scientists have been diligently working on what could eventually become a hugely disruptive technology.

According to New Energy Times, "LENRs are weak interactions and neutroncapture processes that occur in nanometer-to-micron-scale regions on surfaces in condensed matter at room temperature. Although nuclear, LENRs are not based on fission or any kind of fusion, both of which primarily involve the strong interaction. LENRs produce energetic nuclear reactions and elemental transmutations, but do so without strong prompt radiation or long-lived radioactive waste." ("Strong interaction" and "weak interaction" refer to the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force, which-along with electromagnetic force and gravity-make up the four basic forces in nature.)

There are several versions of LENR being developed using different reactants and processes. The basic process of LENR is not well understood, but some experts have stated that it works as follows: Nano-sized particles of nickel, pressurized hydrogen, and a catalyst are heated in a small reactor to the point at which weak interactions between the reactants cause transmutation (i.e., some of the nickel is converted to copper). Considerable excess heat is emitted during this process. Once the reaction becomes self-sustaining, the input power can be reduced significantly and excess heat (up to 650°C) is generated in the range of five to 30 times the input energy. This can be used to create steam, which can then be used for heating and/or generating electricity. The reactants are inexpensive and ubiquitous; during operation, the system emits no greenhouse gases; when turned off, there is no radioactivity; and the unit will allegedly generate electricity for a few cents per kilowatt hour. Now that is a disruptive technology.

According to one researcher, the amount of energy released from 1 gram of nickel would be equivalent to about one barrel of oil. Heat (in the form of steam) and electricity will be the main products. In addition to residential usage, plans exist for commercial and industrial heating/electrical systems. An attractive application is the production of clean water, including desalination systems. Eventually, LENR technology could be used in transportation (e.g., vehicles, aircraft, and ships).

No doubt the skeptics—and even some of the open-minded—reading this article are now cringing. But current LENR efforts are not dependent upon the outcome of just one development effort; there are a number of LENR programs under way in Europe and the United States. Universities and government agencies involved include Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA, and the University of Illinois, and several private companies in Greece, Italy, and the US are also developing LENR technologies. Positive results and improved performance have been reported by the research teams, with at least four companies stating that they are in the early stages of commercial development. A small number of LENR unit manufacturing plants are reportedly being built in Europe and the US, and at least two companies have said they will begin marketing their systems later this year. If this is a hoax, it is a remarkably widespread one, involving organizations of high integrity with no obvious motivation to fool the public and quite a lot to lose in terms of reputation.

But even if a hoax is ruled out, other challenges exist, including accepted scientific explanations of LENR, better refinement of control systems, reliable operations, and a distribution/service infrastructure to maintain LENR units that would presumably be located in every business and neighborhood. There is also the nontrivial issue of full-cycle net energy gain (the LENR process may be energy positive once running, but hydrogen is a key ingredient in LENR; there are no earthly sources of free hydrogen, and it takes energy to separate it from the oxygen atom in water). There will also be regulatory issues and intellectual property challenges that may slow the pace of market penetration in the coming years.However, if this technology is for real, the value proposition for LENR will be incredible.

The best known LENR effort currently under way is by Italian Andrea Rossi and his energy catalyzer. He has developed a LENR system that reportedly is ready for commercialization. Although Rossi has had to change a number of delivery dates for his "E-Cat," he appears to be making progress. He stated in mid-April: "We have already made all the engineering of the production line in the two factories we will set up (one in the US, one in Europe) … I think that it will take from 6 to 12 months after the certifications will be done to start the production."

If proven to work, what impact would LENR have on the petroleum industry? It is difficult to say for certain, but it would undoubtedly be significant. The vast preponderance of oil is used for transportation and heating (Fig. 1), which would now be competing with LENR. While there still would be a need for petrochemicals and other applications, collectively these end uses represent less than about 20% of each barrel. Natural gas would not fare much better; its main applications are heating and electricity. If LENR works, the impact on the petroleum industry, power generation, and coal industry would be enormous. Even wind farms and other emerging alternative energy technologies could not compete economically with LENR.

So what can be done to prepare for LENR? First, watch it closely and do not let skepticism blind you. When the Wright Brothers flew their first plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the scientific community reportedly argued for years after the fact over whether a heavier-than-air craft could actually fly. Even the most obvious evidence was not enough to make some people abandon their preconceived notions of what was possible. Drake had to battle similar skepticism when he drilled the first oil well; many people in Pennsylvania called it "Drake's Folly."

It is also important to evaluate the specific impact that LENR would have on an individual company. How well positioned is your company to weather such a disruptive storm, or to capitalize on these potential opportunities? If LENR becomes a reality, you do not want to fly blindly into the side of a mountain. Investigate creative ways for your company to participate in the LENR market.While this new technology will be disruptive to a number of industries, there will also be business opportunities in the manufacturing, installation, and servicing of LENR systems in multiple applications and sizes around the globe. Millions of LENR units of varying sizes will be required because of the distributed nature of this energy technology.

There is a probability that LENR may never emerge as a reliable, new energy source. If not LENR, then what? Eventually, some other technology is bound to come along with a much superior value proposition than hydrocarbons.It is not a matter of if, but when, this will happen. There was nothing the whaling industry could do to halt its pending decline, and the same will be true when a new technology makes our current approaches to energy generation obsolete. It is vital for a company to have a strategy development process that recognizes and characterizes uncertainty, and deals with complexity appropriately, including potential game changers such as LENR. Such an approach places companies in a stronger position to mitigate risk and capture opportunities as our complex, unpredictable, and surprising future unfolds.

Maybe you can show me where it was tested?
***Hah hah hah, I KNEW you would eventually ask that, because you do not want to do the homework. Recall that in this thread it was YOU who are supposed to PROVE the fraud. So prove it, LOL boy. If it was so easy to LOL about, why have you gone through such contortions to avoid proving it? PROVE IT.

Dude. You seem to be quoting from a thread that only took place in your imagination. It’s easy to argue against imagined comments — that’s called straw argumentation. But you seem to be taking this to a whole new, surreal and creepy level.

put... down... the ... bong...

I'm supposed to prove the fraud? LOL!

You're just mad because I proved very dilute H2O2 has MORE THAN ENOUGH energy to produce the claimed results.

No rocket fuels needed.

Orders of magnitude......man, that's a classic.

Are you a math major?

You blithely ignore that the input water was TESTED. It did not have H202 in it, it was simply water. So how is it you can produce that kind of excess heat with just water? You won’t answer this question, because the answer proves my point that the available energy from water alone is nowhere near enough to produce the excess heat observed. By orders of Magnitude. You know it, that’s why you keep avoiding it.

I’m supposed to prove the fraud? LOL!
***Yes.I claimed that Rossi has not yet been proven to be a fraud. You claimed that Rossi was proven to be a fraud, upthread, followed by the vehemence of the LOL bowlsheet (so then proving it should be all that much easier). So prove it. But you won’t, because you can’t.

That’s your PROOF? Agreeing with me?

WOW, you’re simply incredible! I’ve never seen anyone back away from such a claim so fast!

Wow, you anti-LENR Luddites are amazing to behold.

I’ve never seen anyone back away from such a claim so fast!

I've never claimed he could produce energy with water, silly.

I have shown how a fraudster could produce enough energy using very dilute H2O2. It's so simple, a high school chemistry student could show you.

Man, if I had claimed you'd need "orders of magnitude" more energy than could be produced in any known chemical reaction, I'd be pretty embarrassed right about now. LOL!

I’ve never claimed he could produce energy with water, silly.
***Then we agree. The energy coming from typical LENR experiments is several orders of magnitude higher than what can come from water.

So, LOLboy, go ahead and prove fraud. Prove that it wasn’t water at the input of Rossi’s device. Go on, prove it. After all, you said it was proven, “LOL”. If it’s so obvious that you would write LOL then just produce the proof.

The reason you do not is that you cannot. You’re the fraud here.

It’s so simple,
***Then PROVE IT, as you claim to be able to do, LOL, HAHAHAH and all the rest. The input water was tested. PROVE that it was NOT tested, and that it was H202.

You do not because you can not.

Except, of course, decomposing 0.196 M H2O2. LOL!

***Prove it, LOLboy. The input water was tested. Even then, prove that it’s been H202 all along, on EVERY LENR experiment... My comment wasn’t intended for Rossi’s experiment, it was intended for LENR in general.

So PROVE it. You keep posting “LOL” like it should be incredibly easy to prove. How do you get so much energy from such a LENR system when it’s ONLY Water in and water out? You’ve already said that water does not have the energy. Your whole position has been disproven, because the input water is tested on so many LENR experiments. Even if Rossi is an outlier — go ahead and throw out his experiments.

Prove it, LOLboy. The input water was tested. Even then, prove that it’s been H202 all along, on EVERY LENR experiment... My comment wasn’t intended for Rossi’s experiment, it was intended for LENR in general.

George Miley didn't use water, but he made a claim he couldn't back up by at least one order of magnitude.

Link

"In case you forgot, I asked you "how much "excess" energy did he produce? He warmed how much water how many degrees?" You could provide the data for another test. Or you could run away again."

If you'd read the damned reports, you would know this. Kevmo is right.....you haven't done your homework. You skeptopaths are all alike....won't ever actually read the involved science for yourselves, but want other people to do so and provide you with a digest of some sort. The data is there. Look it up yourself.

The data is there. Look it up yourself.

I did. Rossi didn't even have to use concentrated H2O2 to produce his "excess energy".

Orders of magnitude! Let's talk about not doing your home work. LOL!

"Orders of magnitude! Let's talk about not doing your home work. LOL!"

Check your assumptions. Your calculations are in error by a factor of ~20.

Also, these data are from an experiment in which the possibility of introducing H2O2 is nil, as the coolant was drawn directly from the building water pipes.

I can admit the POSSIBILITY that a liquid chemical fake for those setups where the coolant was contained in a tank, but even there the likelihood is very low.

Kevmo is correct in that you MUST consider the specific experimental setup to draw proper conclusions. Simply doing an enthalpy calculation for a single experiment and trying to use that to draw conclusions for ALL experiments is ridiculous.

Your calculations are in error by a factor of ~20.

Really? Show me.

I can admit the POSSIBILITY that a liquid chemical fake for those setups where the coolant was contained in a tank,

Excellent! Some people have claimed, even some here, that no chemical reaction could possibly release enough energy, by orders of magnitude! I'm glad you don't agree with that claim.

Simply doing an enthalpy calculation for a single experiment and trying to use that to draw conclusions for ALL experiments is ridiculous.

The purpose of my enthalpy calculation was simply to show that a chemical fake was possible.

"Really? Show me."

Sure. The actual energy output was 233KWH, not 16. The 16KW ran for 18 hours. Now, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you actually intended to type KW instead of KWH, and didn't make the sophomoric mistake of using the wrong units.

"Excellent! Some people have claimed, even some here, that no chemical reaction could possibly release enough energy, by orders of magnitude! I'm glad you don't agree with that claim."

In all cases, this statement MUST be related to the specific experiment/demonstration under discussion. I have yet to see a PLAUSIBLE "chemical fake" proposed.

"The purpose of my enthalpy calculation was simply to show that a chemical fake was possible."

Your choice of experiments was pretty much misleading, as this experiment is the ONLY one in which an H2O2 "fake" will work. I have to wonder if that choice was deliberate.

Re-do your calculations for the other demonstrations. I think you will find that H2O2 WILL NOT WORK for the tank-fed experiments (4.9 g/s flow instead of 833 g/s, outputs of 12kW and 16kW respectively).

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