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NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE Creating Electricity from Hydrogen and Oxygen: The eCell Process * The first process produces electrical voltage from water passing over special catalytic reactants. This electrical volt- age aids in the excitement of the hydro- gen and oxygen molecules in the water. ¢ The second process involves a thermo-electro-catalytic reaction that results in the complete separation of the hydrogen molecules from the oxygen molecules. This yields maximum efficiency in the extraction of ultra-pure hydrogen and oxygen gas. ¢ During the third process, small amounts of the hydrogen and oxygen gas molecules created in the second process reattach, providing additional electrical current to subsidise the overall gas gener- ation process. The result of this landmark technologi- cal breakthrough is that it allows hydro- gen and oxygen gas to be created from ordinary water, using only a fraction of the total resulting energy. The amount of water used to generate hydrogen an oxygen gases from this process is negli- gible: usually only a few ounces of water a day, much of which is ultimately recovered within the process and reused. A single Genesis gCell stack (about the size of a small car battery), consisting of several individual gCells, is capable of producing hundreds of cubic feet of gas per day. In comparison, a typica American home located in a cold climate consumes approximately five metere cubic feet of natural gas per day. utility companies. Water generated from the eCells is recovered and reintroduced into the gas generation system, while heat generated during the process is con- verted to usable energy. The Gen gas and electrical genera- tion processes are so compact and effi- cient that devices based on the technolo- gy are easily capable of replacing tradi- tional forms of energy, using very little As was the case in creating the tech- nology for extracting hydrogen and oxy- gen gases efficiently, the Genesis team elected to start completely from scratch in developing its own special fuel cells. While the Genesis electrical generating cells (eCells) are in fact "fuel cells", they share very little in common with any other type of fuel cell in existence. Using the molecular technology devel- oped for the Genesis gas-generating gCell provided significant advantages over existing fuel cell technologies. These advantages include a low manu- facturing cost, substantially higher elec- trical generation yields and catalytic reactant formulations that are not subject to normal degradation, providing sub- stantially longer service life. Utilising a reverse reactant process (similar to but less complicated than the gCell gas-generation process), hydrogen and oxygen molecules are excited and attracted to each other (much like aligned magnets pulling themselves together) and water is then recreated as a result. Substantial amounts of electricity and heat are generated as a byproduct. The Genesis technology is so efficient that a single compact eCell stack (about the size of a gCell stack) can produce over 1,000 amps of electrical current. The electricity extracted from the eCells then replaces the electricity provided by space. Bringing It All Together: The Edison Device While the gCell and eCell technology is breathtaking in its simplicity, it needed to be incorporated into a mechanism that could viably meet residential and com- mercial energy requirements. This has been accomplished through the Edison Device: a self-contained energy genera- tion system consisting of stacks of gCells and eCells. The Edison Device is rough- ly the size of a typical residential outdoor air conditioning unit. Installing the electrical generation fea- ture of the Edison Device to any home or business simply requires attaching three wires to existing electrical service con- nections, typically located in the electri- cal box that contains the utility compa- ny's power meter. Installing the gas-gen- eration feature of the Edison Device sim- ply requires connecting the device's gas feed line directly into the existing natural gas line on the customer's side of the util- ity company's gas meter. At that point, customers are fully independent from energy provided by utility companies. Appliances that use natural gas or propane are easily converted to use hydrogen gas by installing gas line flow restrictors; this can be accomplished sim- ply and easily by any average do-it-your- selfer. As a safety precaution, if a gas leak develops in a customer's appliance, the Edison Device has the ability to detect the leak and immediately shut off the gas supply until repairs can be performed. As a result, gas supplied by the Edison Device will be safer than using natural Water flows into the gall and through acatalytic reactant process that excites Molecules are reattached, producing the hydrogen and oypen ultra pure water that continucs molecules. the cycle, A nog t Amps Sonne rtecules are reattached and produce SY The hydrogen and oxygen an electrical current to molecules move through heap the process going. fhe eCall and electricity is oe wa The hydrogen gas can then be 6 used in place of natural gas. a oO Hydregen and oxygen molecules i are separated by a then, alecto-catalytic reaction, ns Lo oO producing ultra pure hydrogen and oxygen gases, which are then stoned in separate tanks. 10 Amps gas or propane. Market-Ready Models The Genesis Project has developed two market-ready models of the Edison Device: a residential version and a com- mercial version. The residential model is capable of producing up to 30 total kilo- watts of combined gas and electrical power per day (a typical home uses 44 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2003