United States Department of Energy

“ The experimental evidence presented by the review document and oral presentations for the occurrences of nuclear reactions consisted of two general types: excess power production from an electrolytic cell containing metal electrodes (palladium is the typical metal) with a deuterated electrolyte; and measurement of expected fusion products such as 4He in electrolytic cells, or any of the other expected products observed in hot fusion, proton + triton (the nucleus of tritium, consisting of two neutrons and one proton) or neutron + 3He, in a variety of experiments. ”

“ No reviewer recommended a focused federally funded program for low energy nuclear reactions.
Reviewers identified two areas where additional research could address specific issues. One is the investigation of the properties of deuterated metals including possible effects of alloying and dislocations. These studies should take advantage of the modern tools for material characterization. A second area of investigation is the use of state-of-the-art apparatus and techniques to search for fusion events in thin deuterated foils. ”

“ The hypothesis that excess energy production in electrolytic cells is due to low energy nuclear reactions was tested in some experiments by looking for D + D fusion reaction products, in particular 4He, normally produced in about 1 in 107 in hot D + D fusion reactions. ”

“ Since 1989, research programs in cold fusion have been supported by various universities, private industry, and government agencies in several countries.
Review and Process In response to the above request, the Office of Science agreed to a peer review of the experimental data and supporting theory since the 1989 ERAB review. The scientists who made this request were asked to generate a review document that identified the most significant experimental observations and publications, and those areas where additional work would appear to be warranted. ”

“ The proposers state that the results from the research provide evidence for effects in three categories, as summarized in the review document’s Conclusions Chapter:
“The existence of a physical effect that produces heat in metal deuterides. ”