A New Path from Green Hydrogen to Green Energy - Conference at the European Parliament, sponsored by Clean HME

On September 5, the SSF team attended an event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This open conference, organized as part of the Clean Hydrogen Metal Energy (Clean HME) initiative, gathered experts to discuss a "New Path from Green Hydrogen to Green Energy." Konrad Czerski and Jacques Ruer provided introductory remarks, followed by presentations, in which the scientists offered updates on LENR’s progress and future potential for addressing global energy needs.

This was followed by a keynote address by Christian Ngô, a physicist, energy expert, and former scientific director at the Office of the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy in France. Ngô provided a global overview of energy challenges and the critical need for alternatives to fossil fuels. While Ngô expressed skepticism about the feasibility of large-scale thermal fusion in the near future, he offered hope that chemically assisted nuclear reactions, such as those explored in LENR and SSF more broadly, could provide a critical and course-changing breakthrough.

Florian Metzler provided updates on research in the United States, focusing on ARPA-E LENR grantees’ projects. He contextualized their work within the broader field and shared some ideas for future collaborative inquiries and generative directions for the current research. He discussed the wide variety of approaches being explored, from metal-hydride nanostructures to glow discharge setups, and emphasized the importance of accurate diagnostics in experimental work. Metzler highlighted the challenge of measuring heat as an observable and stressed the need for improved nuclear diagnostics and the characterization of nanostructures. His presentation underscored the ambition to develop a new engineering discipline that integrates quantum-enhanced nuclear engineering, drawing comparisons to the convergence of theory and experimentation that led to the development of the transistor​.

Sharing about progress on the European side and representing the CleanHME initiative from the University of Szczecin, Konrad Czerski highlighted their advancements in gas-loading and accelerator experiments, emphasizing the role of electron screening in enhancing fusion rates. Czerski shared promising results from experiments involving deuteron-deuteron (DD) fusion in ultra-high vacuum conditions and explained how crystal lattice defects could be leveraged to improve reaction rates further.

Yasuhiro Iwamura from Tohoku University provided an update on Japan’s LENR research, particularly focusing on collaborations between academia and industry. He first presented a broad overview of Japan’s research in LENR, focusing on anomalous heat generation in nanostructured materials. He discussed the importance of surface temperature distribution during experiments, highlighting how rapid hydrogen loading in nickel multilayers induces heat bursts that conventional chemical processes cannot explain. Iwamura’s work is part of a long-standing collaboration with NEDO, aiming to further understand the mechanisms behind LENR and its potential as a decentralized clean energy solution.

Francesco Celani and Jean-Paul Biberian gave an overview of the historical trajectory of LENR research, tracing its development from the initial experiments in 1989 to recent advances. Their joint presentation discussed the field’s challenges due to early skepticism but pointed to the current renewed interest from scientific and industrial communities. Both also presented their technical findings and urged scientists to continue along these research trajectories. Francesco Celani discussed his experimental work with hydrogen-loaded nanostructured materials, emphasizing the need for dynamic processes, such as forced hydrogen flux, to trigger LENR phenomena. He reiterated his theory that cold fusion is a "forced reaction" requiring external stimulation. Jean-Paul Biberian provided an overview of his work on excess heat generation using nickel-based alloys, highlighting the importance of using inexpensive, scalable materials like hydrotalcite-based nanoparticles to simplify LENR experiments.

Maurizio Maggiore, from the European Commission, spoke about the need for broader recognition of LENR research and proposed rethinking the names under which the research is classified with an eye toward public relations and garnering investment and interest. Lynn Bowen gave closing remarks, summarizing key information about the field and articulating the stakes of continuing this research.

The event reflected a shared sense of optimism about the future of solid-state fusion. Despite the challenges in reproducibility, the week’s presentations highlighted the vibrancy and collaborative spirit of the SSF community. The Anthropocene Institute, a supporter of the event and the research community, reaffirmed its commitment to advancing research and supporting efforts to bring clean energy technologies to market.

This conference reflected the optimism surrounding LENR's potential while acknowledging the technical hurdles and the need for continued collaboration and funding to achieve commercial viability. It marked an important opportunity for researchers to engage with the broader European scientific community and showcase solid-state fusion’s potential as a clean energy source​. As the event concluded, the SSF team left with a renewed sense of purpose, eager to continue pushing the boundaries of solid-state fusion and contributing to its development as a transformative energy source.