The E-Cat low energy nuclear reactor (LENR): implications for supergrid

The two feasible ways I see to move the world economy to a non-carbon basis quickly are a supergrid or a cold fusion breakthrough (which may indeed have happened in re the Andrea Rossi "E-Cat LENR" Ni + H fusion reactor). Even if this Ni + H reaction or something like it does work out, there will be a maximum temperature at which it may occur (because it clearly requires a particular crystalline reactant structure). I think that the apparently observed low temperature fusion reaction in Rossi's LENR reactor occurs over a narrow temperature range around the curie temperature of the nickel; if so, the process may well be limited to a maximum source temperature around 500C. That would be very good for a geothermal source, but not that great for thermodynamic efficiency compared to a modern coal plant; which means more local thermal pollution compared to conventional power plants. It is therefore especially desirable to apply such power plants in cogeneration schemes, so that both the heat and power output of the plant can both be used. A supergrid would still be useful and important in this future "clean, delocalized nuclear fusion-based energy economy" scenario, by decoupling local heat production from local electricity consumption. This would be especially important for hot places around the world, where rejection of the waste heat from steam-based power plants would be especially difficult.


I admit to being fascinated by the possibility of a low temperature nuclear fusion reaction between dissolved hydrogen and crystalline nickel being an extremely important technology breakthrough; however it does not really belong on this blog. Any future posts on Andrea Rossi's E-Cat "LENR" reactor will be moved to my now otherwise defunct "Rethink Technologies" website (http://www.rethink-technologies.blogspot.com/).



I have so far found that US-based venture capital investors will not take an interest in the elpipe because it is "too big, too long term." I have therefore put my startup Electric Pipeline Corporation onto Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/elpipes 
in hopes that I can get started on this important (and expensive) development soon. It would help me move this forward if you will "follow" me on Wefunder; I expect the US Securities and Exchange Commission will be issuing rules by May that will allow me to raise funds though Wefunder (this is not legal yet, but by following EPC, you will help move me to the front of the queue when the final rules are announced).