Andrea Rossi has been granted a US Patent on the e-cat! More coming...
http://animpossibleinvention.c…d-us-patent-on-the-e-cat/
UPDATE: Note that LENR is not mentioned explicitly, but also note that the contents of the fuel mix are specified — lithium and lithium aluminium hydride as fuel and “a group 10 element, such as nickel in powdered form” as the catalyst. This is important since fuel and catalyst specifications have been lacking from earlier patent applications by Rossi on the E-Cat, as far as I know.
The patent, which has the filing date March 14, 2012, can be downloaded here: US9115913
QuoteVariations in the ratio of reactants and catalyst tend to govern reaction rate, and are not critical. However, it has been found that a suitable mixture would include a starting mixture of 50% nickel, 20% lithium, and 30% LAH [lithium aluminum hydride]. Within this mixture, nickel acts as a catalyst for the reaction, and is not itself a reagent. While nickel is particularly useful because of its relative abundance, its function can also be carried out by other elements in column 10 of the periodic table, such as platinum or palladium.
Direct link to the USPTO Site: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&S1=9115913&OS=9115913&RS=9115913
Interview with Andrea Rossi by HydroFusion: http://ecat.com/news/e-cat-patent-granted-by-uspto