“Because I am a Scientist, I want to work on something never seen or even impossible according to usual experience or models.”

Professor Celani said this just as he spoke about all the impossible things he observed while working on LENR experiments. Even before he said it, you could tell it was true; his passion was palpable as he rattled off all the unusual and unexpected phenomena that directed him to the conclusion that something new was indeed happening, that cold fusion was real.

“We are making a new science, step by step.”

I asked Professor Celani to tell me a little bit about his background. I wanted to understand where he was coming from, why science intrigued him, and what fueled his boldness to embark on strange, unexpected paths. To commit his life to and risk his reputation on “new science.”

In the beginning, science was all just theory for a young Celani attending college at Rome University “La Sapienza”. He started with cybernetics, a precursor for Artificial Intelligence as it is known today. LENR would come later, but his stubborn ability to investigate strange phenomena was apparent even at this stage in Professor Celani’s life. The University deemed his thesis “almost impossible” until he got results, even discovering an error in a Texas Instruments device, demonstrating a condition where the device would not work as expected. Texas Instruments acknowledged the error, leading to some fame for the young scientist.

“My spirit is to go deeper if things don’t appear as they claim.”

Professor Celani’s unique spirit was evident to him even as a child. No one scientist particularly inspired him; he was born with an intense curiosity and intelligence that propelled him to read and make some calculations, enough to enjoy playing cards with adults at age 3, write at 5, and spend his childhood performing simple chemistry experiments at home.

This same spirit motivated Professor Celani to take time away from learning to become a pilot as a hobby, to disprove the findings of the Fleischmann and Pons experiment in 1989. In an unexpected turn of events, his experiments only served to convince him that something real was happening. For him, the proof was in the pudding. What did he see that convinced him?

“I saw some excess power, and in the specific initial experiments, other evidence of “nuclear” emission at very low intensity (inside the ultra-low neutron flux at the Gran-Sasso Underground National Laboratory in Italy) that couldn’t be explained using usual physics. Most of them happened during the non-equilibrium condition - [initially] by chance, later planned”.

Science is not always a eureka moment; often, the opportunity for discovery is in weird observations. Following the procedures developed by Fleischmann and Pons, Palladium-Deuterium systems were the most commonly used in cold fusion experiments. Professor Celani explained how his experiments produced some excess power at apparent equilibrium after some conditioning procedures of Palladium lattice “saturated” by Deuterium through electrolytic procedures. These seemingly out-of-control events happened several days after the beginning of experiments, going far beyond what could be explained by expected factors. Interestingly, and not only by chance, the anomalous effects happened mainly during dynamic conditions, like current-voltage fluctuations and temperature changes. Such effects happened even when the liquid electrolyte was almost finished.

“Imagine it like power in a car keeps going, for some time, after the fuel is exhausted…something special is happening.”

Despite Professor Celani’s convictions and optimism regarding LENR, there have been challenges. Celani watched as many Scientists suffered ridicule. Some quit research on the field due to mainstream skepticism and lack of funding, but he remained committed through the years, motivated not just by the strength of his scientific conviction but by his passion for the environment, his love for nature, and his desire to reduce pollution. Professor Celani is an idealist. He dreams about the environment and free energy, ideas that can disrupt the energy industry’s status quo - which presents an uphill battle for LENR to be accepted. Still, Celani is not worried about that; he believes it is a practical matter because oil and gas are finite, and the world must adapt.

According to Celani, the goal is not revolution, but a reformation that considers the stakeholders and complicated realities involved in global energy. Professor Celani does not see LENR as a silver bullet solution but rather something that can soon reduce dependence on fossil fuels for energy. He is an advocate for open-mindedness from scientists and politicians so that there is more money for basic research and application and an increased involvement of younger people in the field. As Professor Celani explains, involving young people will mean communicating with them on their level and on the platforms they give their attention to. It is essential to share the technical knowledge of LENR in a digestible manner to bring it to the fore of social conversation. The encouraging thing from Professor Celani’s point of view is that public interest is increasing compared to the past. Celani was particularly encouraged by recent Parliamentary discussions about the importance of LENR in the European Union.

As for Professor Celani, the work continues as he looks to build a composite model device that shows the workability of LENR. He aims to move LENR experiments from an “academic toy to something real.” A device like this would be pivotal in encouraging more funding and research, inspiring other scientists, and eliminating doubts about the possibilities of LENR. Such a device would also validate his many years of research. After much evidence of his scientific brilliance and contributions throughout his life, he finds it odd that some have discounted his work on LENR.

“I am not a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scientist. I [have always been] an extremely realistic scientist. Several times, I’ve been considered tedious by my colleagues because of the excessive attention I give to the [tiniest] details during experiments. I have kept the same style working on innovative LENR experiments worldwide as I have on conventional experiments in institutions like Frascati Laboratory and Salerno University in Italy, Fermilab in the USA, CERN, and on important topics such as High Energy Physics in Saclay, France and the development of High-Temperature Superconductors in Rutherford, UK, for which a related International Patent was obtained.”

Professor Celani acknowledges the difficulties in the science of cold fusion but encourages scientists to overcome their apprehension through experimentation.

Professor Celani was born to be on the cutting edge, and listening to his story made me feel that “here is someone who simply exists to move humanity forward through science.” His brilliance compelled me, and that bolstered my faith in LENR that much more. Suppose the world is at a precipice due to climate change. In that case, Professor Celani offers hope that science can bring a new world with skies that do not poison and ecosystems that blossom in harmony with human flourishing, powered by energy that gives life without taking.

ICCF22 (Assisi-Italy, September 8-13, 2019): Professor Francesco Celani (far left), Elettra-Asuka (Daughter, Center left), Akari-Assia (Center right), Misa Nakamura (Wife, co-author on LENR publications, far right)