Benchtop fusion claim draws science interest

A benchtop fusion experiment reports a measurable rise in fusion rates when palladium is electrochemically loaded with deuterium.

Electrochemical loading boosts deuterium fusion in palladium target

Researchers describe the Thunderbird Reactor, a compact setup that combines a plasma thruster with a custom electrochemical cell to bombard an annealed palladium target with deuterium ions. The system operates under high vacuum and uses a plasma sheath created by a high negative voltage to accelerate ions into the target, where fusion events are measured by neutron counts.

In beam loading runs, neutron production stabilizes after about 30 minutes. In electrochemically enhanced runs, the cell runs at 200 mA for roughly an hour, loading the palladium to form a beta Pd phase with a high hydrogen deuterium ratio. The team reports a 15(2)% increase in deuterium–deuterium fusion rates under these conditions. Experiments used 17 g of 2 M K2CO3 in D2O as electrolyte, a 0.5 mA plasma current, and a target voltage of −30 kV. XRD analyses show the palladium lattice shifts from alpha Pd to beta Pd during loading and revert after annealing at 400 C, indicating reversible deuterium uptake and release.

The claim hinges on a long debated area linked to low energy nuclear reactions. Independent replication will be the ultimate test, given the field’s history of controversial results and the need for careful measurement of background signals. If the effect is real, it would prompt a closer look at how electrochemistry interfaces with nuclear processes and what safeguards are needed for devices that operate with high voltages and neutron production. Even then, the result is far from a practical energy breakthrough; verification, error analysis, and peer review are essential steps before any broader claims can follow.

Highlights

Further tests by independent laboratories will be the true test of these ideas.