The story of Blacklight Power is a startling case demonstrating how Cleantech investors can go seriously astray. The founder, Randell L. Mills, claimed in 1991 to have refuted quantum mechanics and developed a new energy source relying on previously unknown “hydrinos,” and received tens of millions of dollars in investment despite widespread skepticism. He himself said, “It’s a revolution very fitting to the 21st century, in a chain of revolutions man has had with fire, steel, fossil fuels, and Maxwell’s description of electromagnetism. This is grandiose stuff…”
Others agreed, at least with the importance of the claims. “I would say without reservation that if Mills were proved right, it would revolutionize physics and solve the world’s energy problems overnight, and he would easily win a Nobel Prize and become a multibillionaire,” said John Connett in 2009. (Connett was expressing skepticism.)
Cleantech advocates were not deterred. A writer on the Huffington Post said, “Earth2Tech writes that the new BlackLight Power deal doesn’t prove much except a willingness out there to take risks. Of course, that’s encouraging in and of itself.” I would disagree, as some risks are clearly not worth taking, in particular, investing in Blacklight Power.
Indeed, some small utilities were said to have signed contracts years ago for Blacklight’s revolutionary new power system, including Escatado, and a number of experts expressed interest and optimism, including from NASA and Siemens Westinghouse. Academic validation has been repeatedlyclaimed, though mostly from chemists it seems.
It’s worth stepping back and considering the claims made by Mills. The scientific claims include that he has refuted quantum mechanics, can explain “mysteries of the sun” and has identified dark energy. His inventions can: produce power very cheaply through “’shrinking’ the hydrogen atom’s orbitsphere” with a power density of 100 billion watts per liter. Additionally, the materials created can act as an explosive or propellant, make ships rustproof and endowed with stealth properties, produce an anti-gravity effect that will allow a vessel to elevate, and “form the basis of batteries the size of a briefcase to drive your car 1000 miles at highway speeds on a single charge.” Apparently, it won’t enable a pen to write in whipped cream, but you can’t have everything.
At different times, the company and its founder have pushed two separate approaches to generating power. First, the thermal effects from creating hydrinos would turn a turbine; and more recently, the light emissions from the unit could be converted into electricity through the use of conventional photovoltaic cells. At least some note that he hasn’t delivered on his initial promises.