CleanHME: new EU-funded LENR research project

    Curious about how long they were working on this before HERMES.

    The earliest I've found so far.

    A bit of history.... Also a wealth of expertise... Impressive skill set.


    2004

    "The 2H(d,p)3H Reaction in Metallic Media at Very Low Energies"

    K. Czerski1,2, A. Huke1, P. Heide1 and G. Ruprecht1

    Published 16 October 2004 • 2004 EDP Sciences

    Europhysics Letters, Volume 68, Number 3

    Citation K. Czerski et al 2004 EPL 68 363

    Abstract

    Based on our experimental studies of the electron screening effect in the 2H(d,p)3H reaction for five deuteron-implanted solid targets (C,Al,Zr,Pd,Ta), theoretical calculations have been performed within an improved dielectric function theory. The theory describes correctly the observed target material dependence of the screening energies, underestimating, however, the absolute values by about a factor of 2. Applying an effective screening energy approach, the theoretical cross-sections, thick-target yields as well as nuclear reaction rates have been calculated down to the energies corresponding to the conditions of so-called cold-fusion experiments. This allows for a comparison of the experimental results at higher energies with those achieved in the heavy-water electrolysis expericontainment

    Source.EPI - A Letters Journal Exploring the Frontiers of Physics

    ShieldSquare Captcha



    Interesting that I continue to think CMNS research will yield improved targets, better containment (at lower energies) for hot fusion designs.

    I realize this might be a misguided thought of mine. Just a hunch.


    Curious also about the contributions of the MIT CleanHME team. Peter Hagelstein gave the opening lecture at the first meeting of the consortium.


    Source

    The University of Szczecin is a public university in Szczecin, western Poland. It is the biggest university in West Pomerania, with 33,267 students and a staff of nearly 1,200.

    Clean Energy from Hydrogen-Metal Systems - Sep 22, 2020

    Opening Lecture

    "History of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions" P. Hagelstein, MIT, USA

    4 pages·132 KB

    http://fiz.usz.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/CleanHME_KoM_program_new1.pdf


    Clean Energy from Hydrogen-Metal Systems – CleanHME –

    Kick-Off Meeting of the Project Consortium supported by the EU grant 951974:

    FETPROACT-EIC-05-2019 Boosting emerging technologies

    Breakthrough zero-emissions energy generation for full decarbonization

    23.09.-25.09.2020, University of Szczecin, Poland

    The main aim of the project is to develop a new, clean, safe, compact and very efficient energy source based on Hydrogen-Metal systems, which could be a breakthrough for both private use as well as for industrial applications.

    Organizers:

    Institute of Physics Faculty of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences

    University of Szczecin, Poland ul. Wielkopolska 15, 70-451 Szczecin

    Organizing Committee:

    K. Czerski, N. Targosz-Ślęczka, M. Kaczmarski, A. Kowalska, Edyta Kowalczyk-Łuc

    Combination of the face-to-face conference and on-line participation (MS Teams platform)


    • 10:30 Opening Lecture: History of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (P. Hagelstein, MIT, USA, 30’ talk, recorded)
    • 11:00 Plenary Lecture: Present Status and Perspectives of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (J. Kasagi Tohoku University, Japan, 25’ talk + 5’ discussion)
    • 11:30 Clean Energy from Hydrogen-Metal Systems: Problems to Solve (K. Czerski, University of Szczecin, Poland)
    • 12:00 HERMES Project, (Pekka Peljo, University of Turku, Finnland)

    12:30 – 13:30 Lunch (catering)


    • 13:30 Electrolysis experiments, (J.P. Biberian, VEGATEC, France)
    • 14:00 Gas loading experiments (F. Celani, INFN, Italy)
    • 14:30 Accelerator experiments (M. Lipoglavsek, Josef Stefan Institute, Slovenia)
    • 15:00 He-4 detection and correlation to the heat excess (D. Alexandrov, Lakehead University, Canada)


    15:30 – 17:30 A short boat trip around the port of Szczecin

    17:30 Catering


    • 18:00 Evening Public Lecture: Hot Nuclear Fusion, (M. Jakubowski, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Greifswald, Germany)
    • 18:40 Evening Public Lecture: Climate Change and Energy Production Policy (Jacques Ruer, SART von Rohr, France)


    Thursday, September 24


    • 9:00 Structure and research program of the CleanHME, K.Czerski (USZ)
    • 9:20 WP1 and WP7: Project Managing and Dissemination, N. Targosz-Sleczka (USZ), A. Kovacs (BET)
    • 9:40 WP2: Accelerator experiments, K. Czerski (USZ) + S. Bartalucci (INFN) + M. Lipoglavsek (JSI)
    • 10:00 WP3: Gas Loading Experiments (Bulk Materials) and Detection Systems, Bo Hoistad (UU) + E. Mariotti (UniSi)
    • 10:20 WP3: Gas Loading Experiments (Powder Materials), VEGA + FUT
    • 10:40 WP3: Liquid/solid systems, A. Carpinteri (PoliTo)


    11:00 -11:20 Coffee Break



    • 11:10 WP4: Preparation of active materials, Ch. Leroux (CNRS)
    • 11:30 WP5: Theoretical Analysis, K. Czerski, V. Vysotskii
    • 11:50 WP6: Application and Design of HME sources, SART
    • 12:10 -13:10 Presentation of Commercial Companies and Research Associations (10’ for each, not presented before):
    • Cyril Calatrava, SART
    • Jozef Zlomanczuk, UU
    • Guido Parchi, FUT
    • Arnaud Kodeck, LAKOCO
    • Andras Kovacs, BET
    • Robert Michel, VEGATEC

    13:10 – 15:00 Lunch in chosen restaurants


    15:00 -16:10 Discussion within WPs (separate conference rooms at the MS Teams platform)

    • WP1&WP7: N. Targosz-Ślęczka, A. Kovacs, room 305
    • WP2&WP5: F. Metzler, S. Bartalucci, M. Lipoglavsek, room 319
    • WP3: Bo Höistad, J.P. Biberian, G. Parchi, F. Michel, room 315
    • WP4&WP6: Ch. Leroux (CNRS), Jacques Ruer (SART), room 321

    16:10 – 16:30 Coffee Break


    • 16:30 - 17:30 Panel discussion and conclusions, Chair: Jean-Paul Biberian
    • 19:00 23:00 Conference Dinner, Wyszak Browar Rodzinny, ul. Msciwoja II 8, 70-535 Szczecin

    Friday, 25 September


    • 10:00 Research Managing (Reporting) of the Project, A. Kovacs (BET)
    • 10:30 Financial Managing (Reporting) of the Project, A. Bartoszewska (Regional Contact Point, H’2020), E. Kowalczyk-Łuc (USZ)
    • 11:00 Time Schedule of the Project, A. Kowalska (AM)


    11:30 11:50 Coffee Break


    • 11:50 -13:30 General Assembly Meeting:


    13:30 – 14:30 Lunch (catering)


    • 14:30 Meeting of the Steering Board
    • 15:00 Meeting of individual WP participants
    • 15:30 Final remarks and closing the conference, Bo Höistad


    ≈≈==================================


    Further reading on another historical perspective.


    JANUARY 29, 2013 BY RUBY CARAT

    Cold Fusion 101 video lectures with Professor Peter Hagelstein: “Jobs are opening up in this field”

    MIT IAP short course Cold Fusion 101 is taking place and Jeremy Rys is posting video.

    Video link

    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.
    .

    Cold fusion seldom produces much news worth noting, so I seldom add items to the LENR-CANR News section. I thought the recent announcements of funding from DARPA and in the Army and Navy are worth noting. Then I thought as long as I am adding news items I should say something about the EU CleanHME project. So I added two items:


    News


    If someone here thinks I should add more, let me know.


    I do not think readers often access the News Section. It has little impact. It is mainly a place for me to store links to conferences, so I can keep track of them.

    "

    Quote from teppo

    Periodic Reporting for period 2 (2021-08-01 to 2022-07-31)

    Not much hype there..in the Eu,, compared to the NIF...


    "Even if the experimental activities, mainly in the early stages of the project, have been slowed by the

    COVID pandemic, starting from winter 2021 significant anomalous heat excesses (AHEs) have been

    detected during several experiments.

    Indication of nuclear events, typically weak neutron emissions and strong anomalous exothermic

    reactions have been detected during experiments based on Ni/C, Ni/Cu, Ni/Al, and other catalyzing

    elements both under hydrogen or deuterium atmosphere.


    Several potentially active materials have

    been designed and are being tested in different laboratories of our consortium.


    During a significant number of successful experiments, strong AHEs have been measured, thus demonstrating the

    effectiveness of the applied reaction activating procedures.


    Detected AHEs produced commercially promising COPs even if the most powerful exothermic

    reactions still last for relatively short periods.

    The power density achieved, however, is extremely

    promising.

    Bigger reactors will be tested next year.

    Quote from teppo

    Periodic Reporting for period 2 (2021-08-01 to 2022-07-31)

    https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/951974/reporting

    In case you missed some of the important news in this update:


    Indication of nuclear events, typically weak neutron emissions and strong anomalous exothermic reactions have been detected during experiments based on Ni/C, Ni/Cu, Ni/Al, and other catalyzing elements both under hydrogen or deuterium atmosphere. Several potentially active materials have been designed and are being tested in different laboratories of our consortium. During a significant number of successful experiments, strong AHEs have been measured, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the applied reaction activating procedures.

    Detected AHEs produced commercially promising COPs even if the most powerful exothermic reactions still last for relatively short periods. The power density achieved, however, is extremely promising. Bigger reactors will be tested next year. The cooperation between WP3 (Gas loading experiments) and WP4 partners (Materials preparation) has proven to be synergic and fruitful.

    The gas-loading experiments have been combined with the accelerator experiments in which some chosen pure metallic targets and different alloys have been investigated to understand the enhancement process of nuclear reactions by means of the electron screening effect. First experiments induced both by deuterons and protons show very large screening energies that leads to increase the nuclear reaction rates at thermal energies by many orders of magnitude. The theoretical description of the processes occurring in the DD reactions at extremely low deuteron energies could be developed and explain very high tunneling probability through the Coulomb barrier as well as altering the nuclear branching ratios. The theory will allow for a fast analysis of different compound materials and prediction of results of the gas-loading experiments.


    The progress made so far is very impressive, although further experiments are still needed. During the first year, we have already developed new materials and activation processes which showed extremely promising results in terms of strong AHEs. It is very likely that at the end of the project we will be able to have a demonstration unit capable of producing large amounts of energy with a high Coefficient Of Performance.

    Such a working demonstration unit would open new perspectives for energy production in Europe and worldwide. A new source of green energy at low cost, easily available everywhere would allow for a new industrial applications and the actual development of extremely efficient smart grids. Additionally, the total absence of climate affecting emissions from the HME generators could give a real, effective contribution to the containment of ongoing climate changes.

    We could also demonstrate very large screening energies determined in proton and deuteron induced nuclear reactions observed in the accelerator experiments on some metallic alloys. The results will allow to understand the enhancement mechanisms of nuclear reactions at extremely low energies and propose special materials for gas-loading experiments. The corresponding theory of the deuteron-deuteron nuclear reactions predicting the nuclear reaction rates at thermal energies has been developed.

    Quote from JedRothwell

    Very impressive. I should probably add this to the LENR-CANR news.

    There will be more to add to this story during the first week of January. Alan/Ruby finished an interview with Parchi/Vassalo/Righe a few weeks ago, which is awaiting the graphic finishes by Diadon (on vacation).


    For those who forgot...Parchi represented his Italian team at ICCF24, and gave a well received presentation. Their work received good mention here Which ICCF24 presentation is most likely to sway a skeptic? - General LENR Talks - LENR Forum (lenr-forum.com).


    Plenty of good news in the LENR world. Much of it originating from ICCF24.

    So this is (in part) proper LENR-lite that skeptics like me will be happy to endorse as good science. It has the merit of potentially explaining some of the "old" LENR results, and boosts the "LENR mainstream" ideas from ICCF24.


    I am not so confident that they will get anything commercial from it - but - hey - that is irrelevant. The potential benefits are so high they merit a lot of attention - as long as it pans out.


    The key part I like is the peer-reviewed paper referenced under results:


    https://journals.aps.org/prc/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevC.106.L011601


    Czerski 2022 (Phys Rev C)


    Czerski was the "proper" person looking into low energy electron screening stuff from 20 years ago that I highlighted from a forward/backward literature search on the nice low energy screening experimental evidence posted here. https://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/CzerskiKenhancemen.pdf


    He now looks at D-D fusion at ultra low (thermal) energies and how resonances can affect that. He has calculated evidence for a proposed resonance that would:


    (1) boost cross-section at a very specific (not known but predicted to be precise) thermal range energy. Not clear whether this is enough to explain experimental evidence - but there is enough uncertainty this can stay on the table. He has an estimate of 0.6W/g of Pd given some very optimistic assumptions.

    (2) boost 4He path enough to make it 100X dominant, thus explaining lack of easily identified high energy products.

    (3) require D-D coherent interactions of the sort that could exist inside vacancies in metallic matrices.


    They do not have proper evidence yet from experiments, these things take time, and money, but the thing that (maybe) distinguishes this from other stuff is a quantitative theory with observable reaction products and a decent estimate for reaction rates which is predictive (but still no way proven). And that boring conventional peer-review-driven science system has given these guys Euro 5M - enough to obtain definite experimental results that align enough to theory that they can be characterised and lead to further work.


    It lies (near enough) within the now favoured "NAE - D-D fusion - 4He channel" class of LENR theories.


    So - it might easily come to nothing - but it is enough for that part of LENR to be respectable and no mainstream scientist would quarrel with experiments investigating it (why they got that funding I guess).


    I am a bit surprised that this forum has not focussed more precisely on it and related work. Perhaps the forum could have a "no-whoo-whoo" section which would do that.



    Conclusions. In conclusion, it has been shown that the deuteron fusion reactions at room temperature can take place with relatively large cross sections because of large electron screening energies realized in metallic deuterides. The reaction probability might be additionally increased by many orders of magnitude if the DD threshold resonance is taken into account. As accelerator experiments show, this 0+ resonance and its single-particle nature are necessary to explain the enhanced reaction probability of the 2H (d, p)3H reaction for decreasing deuteron energies in experiments with both metallic and gaseous targets. The existence of the proposed resonance is also supported by theoretical arguments based on the weak coupling between different cluster structures and large nuclear radius differences. The latter implies a large partial resonance width for the internal pair creation resulting in the strongly increased branching ratio for synthesis of the 4He nucleus. Instead of the strong suppression of the 4He channel observed in accelerator experiments, its domination by a factor of 100 or more over the proton channel can be expected at room temperature. Finally, the estimated reaction rates suggest commercial applicability of the DD fusion reactions in metallic environments as a new effective nuclear energy source with a strongly reduced emission of neutrons—the largest part of the reaction Q value will lead to production of charge particles that can be absorbed in the active material. The effectivity of the new energy source will critically depend on the value of the screening energy of the applied material. As shown before [27], an increase of the effective electron mass arising from the crystal lattice defects can be here especially helpful. Because of the small resonance width, the electron screening and its local material dependence also decide about a resonance position and its width, being crucial for the experimental reaction rates. These effects explain why the cold fusion experiments are so difficult to reproduce. Here, new experimental studies focused on the internal pair production could be very helpful. The proposed threshold resonance might play a similar important role for future energy production utilizing the DD fusion reactions, as another single-particle 0+ resonance, so-called Hoyle resonance [43], postulated in the past to explain helium burning and synthesis of 12C in massive stars.


    However if you look at the CleanHME website it is a bit scattergun including a lot of stuff some completely contradictory to (or at least ignoring) Czerski - which makes me concerned that they do not have a coherent plan.


    Still - I live in hope about this stuff...

    Quote from THHuxleynew

    including a lot of stuff some completely contradictory to (or at least ignoring) Czerski

    You will find the interview with Guido Parchi interesting then, specially their XRF analysis results from the electrodes prior and after the process.

    I certainly Hope to see LENR helping humans to blossom, and I'm here to help it happen.

    Quote from Curbina

    You will find the interview with Guido Parchi interesting then, specially their XRF analysis results from the electrodes prior and after the process.

    Yes - I look forward to Parchi's encouraging results being better characterised & linked to the theory. What I meant was for example the theoretical explanation in that same presentation.

    Between some bursts even if powerfull and regular xsh there is a long path to cross again.

    This announcement seems very similar to the recent US one (fusion improvement) to maintain a constant funding flow.

    Now, these guys are they genious ? No in my mind.

    Quote from Cydonia

    Between some bursts even if powerfull and regular xsh there is a long path to cross again.

    This announcement seems very similar to the recent US one (fusion improvement) to maintain a constant funding flow.

    Now, these guys are they genious ? No in my mind.

    For me the question is whether they can leverage theory and get strong evidence of predicted results. The Czerski suggested resonant enhancement has specific testable consequences. (e.g. the narrow resonance peak).


    Random XSH from not totally bulletproof experiments will not do much good, but the same XSH, if correlated as predicted with a theory, would. The same is true of nano-material design. It is the move from random trying things (where positives can be random errors etc) to specific theory-driven optimisation that gives me some hope. But oit isnot clear that they are doing it - I'm just saying, they have enough money and they could maybe be doing it. They are building on previous work in this area - both theoretical and experimental. If this LENR-lite thing turns out to work that is the way to get it working.

    Quote from Cydonia

    Between some bursts even if powerfull and regular xsh there is a long path to cross again.

    This announcement seems very similar to the recent US one (fusion improvement) to maintain a constant funding flow.

    Now, these guys are they genious ? No in my mind.

    Either LENR is nuclear reactions - or it is a collection of other stuff none of which is useful fusion.


    If the former, then the theory and experimental evidence will join up - and each will help the other.


    I agree that experiments that demonstrate non-scalable xsh don't even show that lenr is nuclear reactions - let alone something commercial.


    But theory that is quickly testable, and develops over time (as all easily testable theory will) is valuable in the case that LENR is indeed nuclear reactions. It would lead to unlocking the keys to understanding the phenomenon and harnessing it.

    Influence of crystal structures on electron screening

    EPJ Web of Conferences 275, 01007 (2023)

    Conclusions

    We studied the electron screening effect in the 2H(19F,p)20F nuclear reaction on Zr, three different Ti

    and two different Pd targets containing deuterium. In all targets we measured different values of the

    electron screening potentials. In our powder Ti target we did not detect electron screening different

    from zero, within the error bars (Ue=8.4±9.2 keV). In the soft Pd target the measured screening

    potential Ue=3.2±1.9 was in agreement with the theoretical value (Uad=2.19 keV). In the remaining

    four targets we measured high electron screening potentials, that were up to an order of magnitude

    above the theoretical model. Namely, in Zr target we measured electron screening potential to be

    Ue=7.0±1.9, in the thick Ti foil Ue=12.3±2.8 and in the thin Ti and Hard Pd targets we measured the

    highest screening of Ue=18.0±4.9 and Ue=18.2±3.3, respectively. Since in each target we measured

    a different screening potential for the same nuclear reaction, which is contrary to the predictions given

    by the available theoretical model, we found that the screening effect is not linked to the static electron

    densities around interacting nuclei and that probably, a dynamic approach should be applied. Our

    findings clearly show that electron screening is strongly linked to the host’s crystal lattice structure

    and electron densities at locations of the target nuclei in the metallic lattice. However, in order to

    understand this link, additional investigations are required. Our future plans are to apply quantitative

    methods, such as neutron and X-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, in order to

    test this link.


Subscribe to our newsletter

It's sent once a month, you can unsubscribe at anytime!

View archive of previous newsletters

* indicates required

Your email address will be used to send you email newsletters only. See our Privacy Policy for more information.

Our Partners

Supporting researchers for over 20 years
Want to Advertise or Sponsor LENR Forum?
CLICK HERE to contact us.