Technology Forecast Worldwide Research on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions

8/14/2019 Technology Forecast Worldwide Research on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions

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UNCLASSIFIEDDefense Intelligence Agen cy

Defense A nalysis ReportDIA-08-0911-0033 November 2009Technology Forecast: Worldwide Research on Low-En ergy Nuclear ReactionsIncreasing and Gaining AcceptanceScientists worldwide have been quietly investigating low-energy nuclear reactions(LEN R) for the past 20 years. Researchers in this controversial field are now claimingparadigm-shifting results, including generation of large am ounts of excess h eat,nuclear activity and transmutation of ek ments. I ' 2 , 3 Although n o current theory existsto explain all the reported phen omen a, some scientists now believe quantum-levelnuclear reactions may be occu rring. DIA assesses with high con f idence that if LENRcan produce n uclear-origin energy at room tem peratures, this disruptive technologycould revolutionize energy production and storage, since n uclear reactions releasemillions of times more energy per u nit mass than do any k nown chemical fuel.'' 5

BackgroundIn 1989, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons announced that their electrochemical experiments hadproduced exce ss en ergy under standard temperature and pressure conditions. 6 Because they could notexplain this physical phenomenon based on known chemical reactions, they sugges ted the excess heatcould be nucle ar in origin. However, their experiments did not show the radiation or radioactivityexpected from a nuclear reaction. Many researchers attempted to replicate the results and failed, As aresult, the physics community disparaged their work as lacking credibility, and the press mistakenlydubbed it "cold fusion." Related research also suffered from the neg ative publicity of cold fusion for thepast 20 years, but many scientists believed something important was occurring and continued theirresearch with little or no visibility. For years, scientists were intrigued by the possibility of producinglarge amounts of clean energy through LENR, and now this research has begun to be accepted in thescientific community as reproducible and legitimate.

Source Summary StatementThis assessment is based on analysis of a wide body of intell igence reporting, most of which is opensource information including scientific briefings, peer-reviewed technical journals, international scientificconference proceedings, interviews with scientific experts and technical media. While there is littleclassified data on this topic due to the S&T nature of the information an d the lack of collection, DIAjudges that these open sources generally provide the most reliable intelligence available on this topic.The information in this report has been corroborated and reviewed by U.S. technology experts who areFamiliar with the data and the international scientists involved in this w ork.A lthough much skepticism remains, LENR programs are receiving increased supportworldwide, including state sponsorship and funding from major corporations.'' 8 ' 9 10DIAassesse s that Japan and Italy are leaders in the fie ld, although R ussia, China, Israel, andIndia I are devoting signif icant resources to this work in the hope of f inding a new clean

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energy source. Scientists worldwide have been reporting anomalous excess heatproduction, as w ell as evidence of nuclear particles 1 2"4 and transmutation. I 5 ' 1 6 . 1 7 Y. Iwamura l 8 at Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries first detected transmutation ofelements when permeating deuterium through palladium m etal in 2002. Researchers led by Y. Arata at Osaka University in Japan 1 9 and a team led byV.Violante at ENEA in Italy (the Italian N ational Agency for New Technologies,Energy, and the Environm entthe equivalent to the U .S. Department of Energy) 2 also made transmu tation claims. Add itional indications of transmu tation have been reported in China, Russia, France,Ukraine, and the U nited States. 2 1 ' 2 2 Researchers in Japan, Italy, Israel, and the United States have all reported detecting

evidence of nuclear particle emissions. 2 3 . 2 4 Chinese researchers described LENR experiments in 1991 that generated so muchheat that they caused an exp losion that was not believed to be ch emical in origin. 2 5 Japanese, French, and U.S . scientists also have reported rapid, high-energy LE NRreleases leading to laboratory exp losions, according to scientific journal articles from1992 to 2009. 2 6 ' 2 7 Israeli scientists reported in 2008 that they have applied pulsating electrical currents

to their LENR experiments to increase the excess energy production. 2 8 As of January 2008, India was reportedly considering restarting its LE NR programafter 14 years of dormancy. 2 9U.S. LE NR researchers also have reported results that support the phenomena ofanomalous heat, nuclear particle production, and transmutation. 3 . 3 1 ' 32 At the M arch 2009 A merican Chem ical Society annual meeting, researchers at U.S.Navy SPA W AR Pacific reported excess energy, 3 3 nuclear particles, 3 4 and

transmutation, 3 5 ' 3 6 stating that these effects were prob ably the result of nuclearreactions. 3 7 A research team at the U.S. company SRI International has been studying theelectrochemistry and kinetics of LEN R since the early 1990's, reporting excess heatand helium production. 3 8

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NItcathodenode

NdFeBmagnet

(12200 Gauss)CR-39chip

UNCLASSIFIED If rapid, explosive energy output can occur in one or several modes, could LENRserve as a new high-energy-density explosive?International LENR research was highlighted in April 2009 on a U.S. television programfocused on the 20th anniversary of the Fleischman and Pons announcement. 4 9 Many U.S.researchers are collaborating with foreign scientists, but each team has prop rietaryaspects of their experiments that are not shared. Because som e peer-reviewed journ alsare reluctant to review or publish LE NR data due to past controversies, most results arepresented at international conferences, and foreign scientists have access to mu ch of theU.S. data. In addition, U.S. experts have been invited to brief on LENR to nuclearinstitutes in India, 5 Belgium, 5 and South Korea, 5 2 and a reciprocal visit by SouthKorean s to SPAW AR P acific to initiate collaboration is planned. This relatively freeflow of information increases the likelihood of a technology breakthroughas well as thepotential for technolog y surprise by an international team, especially those fromcountries that are devoting m ore resources to this research than is the United States, andare supported with major corporate funding (M itsubishi, Toyota, and H onda in Japan;Pirelli in Italy). 5 3

The ExperimentsMost LENR experiments involve electrodes immersed in solutions of metal salts such as lithium chlorideor lithium sulfate, with heavy water substituted for natural water. Electric current is sent through theexperimental apparatus, in most instances producing excess heat, This effect occurs over long periods(several hundreds of hours), and many early experimenters achieved negative results because they wereunaware of this incubation period. Israeli researchers used pulsating electric fields to increase heatproduction. The application of m agnetic fields has been shown to stimulate increased heat and pow er.Usually one of the electrodes is palladium, because it has a high ability to adsorb (hold on the surface)and absorb deuterium atoms in its metal matrix. Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen that undergoesfusion in nuclear weapons at high temperatures and pressures; it also undergoes fusion and is one of thebasic building blocks of the heavier elements formed in stars. The Navy SPA WA R experiments used aunique technique to place the palladium atoms in the heavy-water solution and to codeposit palladium anddeuterium, which rapidly increases the deuterium "loading" necessary for the LEN R phenom ena to occur,

A Notional LENR Electrochemical Cell (Left) and a French LENR A pparatus After anUnexplained Explosion (Right)4UNCLASSIFIED


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Who's Hot in Cold Fusion?

The countries with the most advanced LENR programs are Japan, Italy, and Israel. In addition, Russia, France,China, South Korea, and India are spending significant resources on LENR research. The following are amongthe most notable efforts: In Japan, Iwamura at Mitsubishi has been studying transmutation of elements in LENR experiments and

multilayer palladium (Pd) complexes. His team includes the Japanese Synchrotron Radiation ResearchInstitute and SPring-8 at Riken. Kitamura and other researchers at Kobe University are investigating Pdnanopowders an d Helium-4 ash. Arata at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has worked on catalysts containingnanopalladium. Yamaguchi at Kobe noted transmutation using multilayered Pd samples. Mizuno atHokkaido is studying transmutations and heat generation. A team led by Hioki at Toyota is investigatingdeuterium gas permeation through Pd as well as transmutations. Toriyabe at Tohoku University isdeveloping charged-particle detectors for LENR. Kasagi is looking at electron and ionic screening inLENR effects.

Vittorio Violante, a leader in the field of Pd metallurgy and the role of surface effects in LENR, heads ateam at ENEA, Frascati Rome, (the Italian equivalent to the U.S. Department of Energy) performingLENR experiments. A team led by Francesco Celani at INFN that includes STMicroelectronics and Pirellilabs is studying deuterium migration in nanocoated Pd for fast-loading and anomalous heat effects. TheItalian Physical and Chemical Societies are supporting LENR research in Italy.

s Srinivasan in India noted that India is restarting its LENR program; the Bhabha Atomic Research Centrehad several groups working on LENR from 1989 to the early 1990s. Sinha at IISc in Bangalore is studyingmodels for fusion in metal deuterides. Lakshrnanan at Saveetha College is exploring fusion in sodiummetal solutions.

Andrei Lipson and other researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences and scientists in Tomsk arestudying the emission of charged particles during the use of electron beams to excite palladium/deuterium(Pd/D) and titanium/deuterium (TifD) targets. Karabut and others at LUCH also are conducting LENRexperiments. A Dubna team led by Gareev is studying nuclear fusion during cavitation and moleculartransitions. LUCH's Savvatimova, Dash, Muromtsev, and Artamonov also are conducting LENRexperiments. Adamenko and Vysotskii of Kiev are looking for magnetic monopoles in LENR experiments.Kurchatov-based scientist Goryachev is investigating LENR for alternative energy sources and formitigating radioactive waste.

Xing Z. Li at Tshinghua University claims 20 institutions in China are investigating LENR withgovernmental support. Tian's team at Cahnchun University of Science and Technology is investigatinglaser triggering in Pd/D systems. Zhang and other researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences havestudied Pd-D kinetics in LENR since 1991.

Israeli scientists at Energetics in Omer have shown that variations in energy output can be increased usingvariable frequency or pulsed "superwaves" to stimulate LENR effects.

The French Atomic Energy Agency had an official LENR program from 1997 to 1999. EDF also had onefor several years. Currently, Jean-Paul Biberian from the Universite Marseille and Jacques Dufour atCNAM are working on LENR in France.

s Jan Marwan of Dr. Marwan Chemie in Berlin, Germany, is studying the nanostructure of palladiumhydride systems. Huke and others from the Technische Universitat Berlin are working with Czerski inPoland and Ruprecht in Canada on electron screening mechanisms for deuteron fusion.

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Outlook and ImplicationsIf nuclear reactions in LEN R experim ents are real and controllable, DIA assesses thatwhoever produces the first commercialized LENR power source could revolutionizeenergy production and storage for the future. The potential applications of thisphenomenon, if commercialized, are unlimited. The anomalous LENR effects seen inthese metal lattices containing deuterium m ay also have as-yet undeterminednanotechnology implications. LENR could serve as a power source for batteries thatcould last for d ecades, providing pow er for electricity, sensors, m ilitary operations, andother applications in remote areas, including space. LENR could also have medicalapplications for disease treatment, pacemakers, or other equipment. Because nuclearfusion releases 10 million times more en ergy per unit mass than does liquidtransportation fuel, the military potential of such high-energy-density power sources isenormous. And since the U.S. military is the largest user of liquid fuel for transportation,LEN R pow er sources could produce the greatest transformation of the battlefield for U.S.forces since the transition from horsepow er to gasoline power.Prepared by: Beverly Barnhart, DIA/DI, Defense W arning Office. With contributionsfrom: Dr. Patrick McD aniel, University of New M exico; Dr. Pam Mosier-Boss, U.S.Navy SPAWAR/Pacific; Dr. Michael McKubre, SRI International; Mr. LawrenceForsley, JWK International; and Dr. Louis DeChiaro, NSWC/Dahlgren.Coordinated with DIA/DRI, CPT, DW O, DOE /IN, US Navy SPAW AR/Pacific and U.S.NSWC/Dahlgren, VA.1 Bockris, John. "The H istory of the Discovery of Transmutation at Texas A& M U niversity." paper presented at the10 ' International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF). Cambridge, MA, 200 3.2 te International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF), Washington, DC, 10-15 August 2008.3 The numb er of protons in the nu cleus of an atom d etermines the identity of the chemical element_ N ucleartransmutation occurs when the nu mber of protons in the nucleus is changed by adding or removing protons orconverting them to other nuclear particles. Thus transmutation changes one chemical element into another through anuclear process.4 Benedict, M., T. Pigford, and H . Levi, "Nuclear Chemical Engineering." McG raw H ill Series in NuclearEngineering, 1981.5 Hecker, S.. "Plutonium, A H istorical Overview," Challenges in Plutonium Science, Vol. 1, Los Alamos. NationalLaboratory. No. 26, 200 0.6 Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Vol. 261. 263, 287, pp 187, 301. 293.DeChiaro, Louis, "Recent Progress in Low Energy N uclear Reactions. "briefing prepared by NAVS EA. Dahlgren.for DDR&E, 28 August, 2009.Iwamura, Y ashiro, et al ., "Transmutation Reactions Induced by D2 G as Permeation Through Pd Complexes(Pd/CaO/Pd), ,, 1 4 ` h International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF), Washington. DC, 10-15 August 200 8.9 Hioki, Tatsumi, et al., "Influence of Deuterium G as Permeation on Surface Elemental Change of Ion-ImplantedPd," 14 t h International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF), Washington, DC. 10-1 5 August 20 08.I Celani, Francesco, et al., "Deuteron Electromigration in Thin Pd W ires Coated with Nano -Particles: Evidence forUltra-Fast Deuterium Loading and A nomalous, Large Thermal Effects," 14 t h International Conference on ColdFusion (ICCF), Washington, DC, 10-15 August 2008.

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1 1 "Exciting New Science; Potential Clean Energy," Abstracts. 14 th Internat ional Conference on Condensed M atterNuclear Science and Internat ional Conference on Cold F usion (ICCF). Washington, DC. 10-15 A ugust 2008.12 Mosier-Boss, et al. "Triple Tracks in CR-39 as the Result of Pd/D Co-deposition: Evidence of EnergeticNeutrons," Naturwissenschaften, 96, 2009, 135-142.13 Mosier-Boss , et a l ., Navy SP AW AR briefing, American Chem ical Society annual meet ing, March 2009.1 4 "Exciting New Science; Potential Clean Energy," Abstracts, 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Condensed M atterNuclear Science and Internat ional Conference on Cold F usion (ICCF), Washington, DC, 10-15 A ugust 2008.15 Transmutations only occur when nuclear particles interact and are exchanged to produce different elements.16 Iwamura, Yashiro, e t a l. , "Transmutat ion React ions Induced by D2 Gas Permeat ion Through P d Com plexes(Pd/CaO/Pd) 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Cold F usion (ICCF), Washington, DC, 10-15 A ugust 2008.17 Yam aguchi , Tatsuya, e t a l ., " Inves tigat ion o f Nuclear Transmu tation Using Mult i layered CaO IXIPd Sam plesUnder D euterium Perm eat ion," 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF), W ashington, DC , 10-15August 2008.Iwamura, Yashiro, et al., "Elemental Analysis of Pd Complexes: Effects of D2 Gas Permeation," Japan Journal ofApplied Physics, Vol 41, 2002, pp. 4642-4650.1 9 Arata, Y. , "Anomalous Effects in Charging of Pd Powders w ith High Densi ty Hydrogen Isotopes ," PhysicsLetters A, 373, 2009, pp 3109-3 112.Violante, V. et al., "On the Correlation of PdD Alloy Material Properties with the Occurrence of Excess Power,"briefing presented at 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Cold F usion (ICCF), Washington, DC, 10-15 A ugust 2008.21 Prelas, M.A., et al., "A review of Transmutation and Clustering in Low Energy Nuclear Reactions," briefingpresented at Vice Chancel lor for Research Sem inar on LEN R, Univers i ty of M issouri , May 2009.Briefings presented at Navy SPAW AR San Diego, LENR m eet ing, 4-5 August , 2009.43 Mosier-Boss, et al. "Triple Tracks in CR-39 as the Result of Pd/D Co-deposition: Evidence of EnergeticNeutrons," Naturwissenschaften, 96, 2009, 135-142.24 Mizuno, Tadahiko, "Neutron E miss ion Induced by N uclear Reaction in Con densed M atter ." briefing presented atVice Chancel lor for Research Seminar on LEN R, Univers i ty of M issouri , May 2009.25 Zhang, et al., "On the Explosion in a Deuterium/Palladium Electrolytic System," Third International conferenceon Cold Fusion, 1992, Nagoya. Japan.26 Biberian, Jean-Paul, "Unexplained Explosion During an Electrolysis Experiment in an Open Cell Mass flowCalorimeter." Journal of Condensed Matter, Nuclear Science, 2 (2009) pp. 1-6.27 Zhang, et al., "On the Explosion in a Deuterium/Palladium electrolytic System," Third International conference onCold Fusion. 1992, Nagoya, Japan.28 Lesin. et al., "Ultrasonically-Excited Electrolysis Experiments at Energetic Tech nologies," Energe ticsTechnologies, Omer. Israel, briefing presented at 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Co ld Fusion (ICCF), W ashington,DC, 10-15 August 200829 Jayaraman. K.S., "Cold Fusion is Hot Again," Nature India, 2008. Publ ished onl ine 17 Jan 2008. ht tp:/ /www.lenr-cannoreacrobat/JayaramanKcoldfusion.pdf3 Mosier-Boss, et al., multiple briefings presented at Navy SPAWAR Pacific, August 4-5, 2009.31 McKubre, Michael. "Studies of the Fleischmann-Pons Effect at SRI International," briefing presented at ViceChancel lor for Research Seminar on L ENR , Univers ity of Missouri . May 2009.32 Spzak, Stan. et al., "Evidenc e of Nuclear Re actions in the Pd Lattice," Natunvissenschaften, 92, 2005. 394-397.33 Szpak, Stan. et al., "Thermal Behavior of Polarized Pd/D Electrodes Prepared by Co-Deposition," ThennochimicaAta, 410. 2004. 101-107.34 Mosier-Boss. et al., "Triple Tracks in CR-39 as the Result of Pd/D Co-deposition: Evidence of EnergeticNeutrons," Nutunvissen.rchaften, 96, 2009. 135-142.35 Spzak, Stan, et al., "Evidenc e of Nuclear Re actions in the Pd Lattice," Natunvissenschaften, 92, 2005. 394-397.36 The identity of a chemical element is determined by the number of protons in its atomic nucleus. Transmutationoccurs when one chemical element is changed into another one. This normally occurs during radioactive decay, butcan occur from any number of nuclear processes that add or subtract protons from the atomic nucleus.37 Mosier-Boss , et a l ., Navy SP AW AR briefing, American Chem ical Society annual meet ing, March 2009.38 McKubre, Michael, "Studies of the Fleischmann-Pons Effect at SRI International," briefing presented at ViceChancellor for Research Seminar: Excess Heat and Particle Tracks from Deuterium-Loaded Palladium, Universityof Missouri , 29 M ay 2009.

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39 Swartz , Mitchell , e t a l. , "The Impact of H eavy W ater (D20) on N ickel-Light Water Cold Fusion Systems."Proceeding s of the 9 t h Internat ional Conference on Cold Fusion, ICCF-9, Co ndensed M atter Nuclear Science. May19-24, 2002 , Beijing, China, Tsinghu a University Press, 2003, pp 335-342.4 Miles , Melvin, e t a l. , "Anomalous Effects in D euterated Systems," Final Report , NAW CW PNS TP 8302, N avalAir W arfare Center W eapons Divis ion, 1996.41 Hagelstein, Peter and Irfan Chaudhary, "Modeling Excess Heat in the Fleischmann-Pons Experiment," briefingpresented at V ice Chancel lor for Research Sem inar on LE NR, U niversi ty of Missouri , May 200 9.42 Olenik, V.P. and Yu. D. A repjev, "Physical Mechanism of N uclear React ions at Low Energies ," Nat ionalTechn ical University of Ukraine, Kiev Polytechnic Institute43 Srivastava, Y.N., 0. Panella, A. Widom, "Instability of the Perturbation Theoretical Chromodynamic Vacuum,"LAN L w eb s i te , arXiv:0811.3293v1 20 N ov 2008.44 Hagels tein, Peter , MIT, Briefing, Navy SPAW AR Pacif ic . August 2009. ,45 McDaniel, Patrick, "Electrochemically Induced Nuclear Reactions," briefing, presented at Navy SPAWARPacific, August 2009.4 6 Sinha, K.P. and A.Meulenberg, "Laser St imulat ion of Low -Energy N uclear React ions in Deuterated Pal ladium,"Current Science, Vol.91, No.7, 10 October, 2006, pp. 907-91247 Lesin, et al., "Ultrasonically-Excited Electrolysis Experiments at Energetic Tech nologies," Energe ticsTechn ologies, Om er, Israel, briefing presented at 14 t h Internat ional Conference on Co ld Fusion (ICCF), W ashington,DC, 10-15 August 2008.48 Tsvetkov ., S.A., "Possibility of Using Co ld Fusion for Nuclear W aste Products Transm utation," !IP InternationalConference on Cold Fusion, Cambridge, MA, 2003. from LEN R-CAN R.org websi te .49 http://www.cbsriews.com/stories/2009/04/I7/60minutes/main4952167.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody5 Personal correspondence, Dr. Michael McKubre, SRI International, October, 2009.51 Forsley, L., "Lattice Assisted Nuclear Reactions: Overview of an Unexpected Phenomena." First Colloquium onNano-Nuclear Science l 'Universite catholique de Louvain, Belgium, May 4-5, 2009.52 Personal correspondence, M r. Lawrence Fors ley, JW K Internat ional, October, 2009.53 In Japan, the three major au tomakers are supporting LE NR research. In Italy, Pirelli Labs is one of m anycorporate and governmental sponsors of LEN R research.Sa Biberian, Jean-Paul. "Unexplained Explosion During an Electrolysis Experiment in an Open Cell Mass flowCalorimeter," Journal of Condensed Matter, Nuclear Science, 2 (2009) pp. 1-6.

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Technology Forecast Worldwide Research on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions