The E-Cat in an electric car, 2024: the Twizy comparison in Latina

To reach the million-order threshold for the SKLep after all, Andrea Rossi relied on a vivid demonstration: an electric car that is recharged on the move by E-Cat generators.

The first attempt in 2023

For autumn 2023 Rossi announced a twelve-hour drive on a race track near Rome without recharging the batteries. On 4 October 2023 he stopped the project: there had been “a big problem with the E-Cat system” involving safety risks, and all E-Cat operations had been halted. The test was postponed indefinitely.

Latina, 27 September 2024

A year later the comparison took place on the “Il Sagittario” circuit in Latina. Two identical Renault Twizy 80s drove against each other:

• The car with a full battery and no additions came to a stop after 2 hours and 20 minutes.
• The car with E-Cat generators (3 kilowatts) started with a state of charge of 62.18 per cent and stood at 83 per cent after 6 hours and 27 minutes – so despite driving it had gained charge by the time it was stopped.

According to Leonardo Corporation, the test was prepared and carried out by the engineer Maico Marzocchi. He had already checked the 3 kW unit in Genoa on 6 September 2024: with a calorimeter, a home-made wallbox that converted the direct current into 230-volt alternating current, a rented VW e-Up as a load, and a drill and a fan heater.

Assessment

The comparison was vivid and well documented – but it took place under the manufacturer’s direction. Marzocchi is described as independent, yet he published his report in Rossi’s own online journal. What would make an independent test was missing: a sealed device, a body with no ties to the manufacturer, a measurement over days rather than hours. The fact that the first attempt in 2023 was abandoned for safety reasons should not be forgotten in the assessment.

The series: the E-Cat (Andrea Rossi) in the NET-Journal

• 2011: The nickel-hydrogen demonstration in Bologna
• 2018: A one-centimetre reactor in Stockholm
• 2019: Heat on lease instead of a power plant to buy
• 2022: 100 watts from a box – once there are a million orders
• 2024: The Twizy comparison in Latina (this article)
• 2025: Production plans – and what can be seen of them in 2026

Sources: NET-Journal (Jupiter-Verlag) 11/12 2023, pp. 28–29; 11/12 2024, pp. 4–5; 1/2 2025, pp. 18–21. Text and diagram: GAIA editorial team.