Over the past month there has been growing media coverage for Andrea Rossi’s E-Cat (energy catalyzer) technology. Today an article in the Boston Globe describes Rossi’s meeting with representatives from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts. He was invited by the state Senate’s minority leader, Bruce Tarr.

The E-Cat is the most recent generation of proposed LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reaction) describing what originally was known as “cold fusion”. The tie-in to gravity modification is that the E-Cat was mentioned in March in my book Gravity 2.0 as one of two potential energy technologies capable of providing a low-carbon sustained energy output for the continuous powering of gravity generators used in the maintenance of gravitational assists and the floating of architectural structures.

In late October Rossi demonstrated a 1 MW power plant that fits into a shipping container. It was independently tested then reportedly purchased by a military customer. Twelve other units have been ordered by that custom according to Ross and another plant was sold to a non-military customer willing to put the plant on display for public viewing.

For years LENR has been gaining interest by major research institutions. In May the chief scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center wrote that are doing experiments to verify, or not, the Widom-Larsen theory which is a LENR replication. Also, the U.S. Navy’s SPAWAR laboratories have reported over the past few years their analysis of LENR replications. Rossi’s reported energy profiles produced by the E-Cat are far more energetic that those reported by any other research group and his work relies heavily upon prior research conducted by colleagues Sergio Focardi and Francesco Piantelli.

In a parallel development, Brian Ahern from Ames National Labs thinks that LENR is just a result of nanomagnetism. Ahern states “In the last 8 weeks I have been astounded by a superior nanotechnology that will capture the imagination of even the greatest foes of LENR. I believe all of LENR is just a new and unanticipated form of nanomagnetism.” Ahern reportedly will publish an expansion of his findings on Dec 7.

Rossi’s use of oscillating fields in his tests and Ahern’s focus on nanomagnetism are reminiscent of aspects of Steorn Inc.’s solid state “Orbo” technology which is being released under the title “HephaHeat.” Steorn still has yet to release working versions of its heating technology for public examination.

[In the interest of full disclosure I have been under a non-compensatory non-disclosure agreement to Steorn Inc. since May 2007.]