Xogen - Tap Water As Fuel?

By Stewart Trickett (stewart@kelman.com)

The following article is reprinted courtesy of the author

and the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists. It

was originally published in the December 2000 CSEG Recorder.
 

I first heard about Xogen (pronounced "ex-o-jen") Power Inc. of Calgary,

Alberta from a co-worker to whom I had been bragging about my stock market

profits from a hydrogen fuel cell company. He referred me to Xogen's web site

at "www.xogen.ca". It begins credibly enough with a greetings from Alberta

premier Ralph Klein, but the claims following this seem fantastic.

Xogen say they have invented a device for extracting hydrogen gas by passing a

pulsed current through ordinary tap water. That in itself is nothing special -

electrolysis (although Xogen avoids referring to their invention as such) has

been around for centuries. But here's the zinger: Only a small amount of

electricity is required, much less than the energy that can be extracted by

burning the hydrogen!

Now this is remarkable, and if true might provide the world with an endless

supply of cheap energy while producing almost no greenhouse gases or other

pollutants. It would certainly rate as one of the great inventions of all

time. Xogen's web site, however, seems oddly modest about its importance,

referring mostly to powering cars and heating furnaces. They claim to have

built prototypes for both applications, which also seems odd. Why not

concentrate on perfecting the device itself? A convincing demonstration of its

properties would have other companies fighting for the rights to develop

applications.

Xogen's web site is irritatingly vague on why the device works. They say more

about what it is not than what it is. No, you don't get more energy out than

is put in. No, it doesn't violate the known laws of physics. No, it isn't cold

fusion (well, who said it was?)

Although Xogen is a private company, it is 20% owned by Tathacus Resources Ltd

(TTC on the Canadian Venture Exchange), a Calgary petroleum company. The

decision to invest $2 million in Xogen was approved by shareholder proxy this

June, apparently with over 99% approval from the minority shareholders. It

seems to have done Tathacus share prices some good: "Tathacus Stock Soars on

Hydrogen Generation Hope", screamed a Reuters headline in September.

Tathacus's web site (www.tathacus.ca) discloses more information. On October

3rd, Xogen was awarded U.S. patent 6,126,794 for an apparatus for producing

hydrogen gas. It describes a fairly simple device made from ordinary

materials. But although the patent explains how the device is built, it

doesn't explain why it works.

To find out I contacted Leigh Clarke, a spokesman for Xogen. He began by

asking my background, and I answered mathematics and computer science. He

approved of this, suggesting my thinking wouldn't be constrained by the

intellectual boxes by which so many engineers seem bound. Uh huh.

He went on to confirm that Xogen had indeed developed a new device for

extracting hydrogen gas from water, and that the burning of the hydrogen

generated far more energy than the electricity used by the device. Isn't this

perpetual motion? Well no, for here's a critical point: Ordinary water must be

used. Distilled water, like that which might be condensed from the exhaust of

burning hydrogen, won't work.

But what property does tap water possess that distilled water does not? Where,

for heck sake, does the energy come from? This Mr. Clarke refused to say,

although he hinted that it may be electrostatic. Despite the patent on their

initial prototype, the secret remains with the company.

So, is Xogen on to something? With little from Xogen to confirm their

remarkable claims, common sense must rule. Odds are they aren't. They may be

outright frauds, they may be sincerely mistaken, or they may be trying to

exploit some actual effect which is too minor to be of practical use. In fact

it would be safe to dismiss Xogen completely if its people behaved like

crackpots. The trouble is they don't - apart from the claims, Xogen and its

spokesman appear sane and professional.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. Perhaps Xogen will rocket to

international fame, only to collapse in a heap of lawsuits and criminal fraud

charges, joining the rogue's gallery of Bre-X, Solv-Ex, and cold fusion. My

guess is Xogen will achieve only minor recognition and then quietly fade away,

citing insurmountable technical difficulties in implementing their secret, but

(they persist) still valid, method.

Or, of course, they may solve the world's energy problems. I'm almost temptedto buy shares in Tathacus Resources, just in case...