If you enter the search term “hydrogen plasma” into an Internet search engine, the first entry you will get is the “Wendelstein X-7” nuclear fusion reactor in Greifswald, Germany. The second result takes you to the website of Epeu Next Level Hydrogen, a German manufacturer of hydrogen heaters from Duisburg.
Both systems appear to consume more energy than they produce. Physicists acknowledge that further research and development could theoretically change this for the first technology, but not for the second. The hydrogen plasma heater developed by Epeu Next Level Hydrogen appears to question the first law of thermodynamics, which governs the conservation of energy.
However, the company presented the system to an interested audience at a recent solar energy trade show in Germany, which it attended pv magazine. The stand attracted a lot of attention and many installers received detailed explanations about the system. Whether they shared doubts about the claims remains unclear, but their functionality and efficiency raise questions.
A company representative said the system is designed to replace gas boilers in older apartment buildings, addressing a market gap where heat pumps are difficult to integrate. Existing pipes and radiators can remain in use, although Epeu also offers its own radiators, which it claims are more efficient.
The heating system consists of a 12.5 liter water tank that is filled with tap water during installation. Four closely spaced metal rods in the center of the tank carry tension and create arcs that travel from rod to rod through the water. These arcs split the water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The system reportedly generates plasma when hydrogen is stored in the tank, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. The representative only said that hydrogen reaches a higher chemical potential. When ignited, the hydrogen generates heat, which the heat exchanger conducts to the boiler and adds to the water. The combustion of hydrogen also produces water. Once the process is complete, it repeats several times per second.
The company representative showed a video of the Epeu Next Level heating system with the lid removed so you can see the inside of the boiler during operation. The video showed several successive explosions beneath the water’s surface, with bright yellow flashes flaring up repeatedly, resembling underwater welding. The system made pops and clatters several times per second. The representative claimed that the factory was well insulated and that the explosions were inaudible. The system, he says, runs quieter than any gas heating system.
The representative discussed the efficiency of the system and explained that the heating system consumes 6 kW of electrical power and provides a thermal heating value of 12 kW through the described process. He claimed that while heat pumps typically only achieve an advertised coefficient of performance (COP) of three or four under optimal conditions, Epeu’s system delivers 200% efficiency in all weather conditions.
The pv magazine The editors contacted several research institutes and physics departments to describe the heater. All physicists, without exception, considered the functionality and efficiency outlined in the description to be fundamentally impossible, although most wished to remain anonymous. Some called the information on the website poor, misleading and contradictory.
However, Matthias Bartelsmann, professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of Heidelberg, did not hold back.
“The system, as described, splits water electrolytically and brings the components to a chemically higher state, but returns to the starting material water,” says Bartelsmann. “In this way, the energy yield cannot be higher than the amount of energy previously consumed.”
He added that even if the system produced and burned hydrogen, it would dissipate less energy as heat than the amount it would receive electrically. Anything else would violate the first law of thermodynamics.
Volker Quaschning, professor at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW), also said he finds it difficult to understand the company’s description.
“The benefits of the system are not clear, the way it works is not described in an understandable way,” said Quaschning. “Test reports with verifiable efficiency are not available on the website. At best, the system is comparable to a direct electric heating system, which is inefficient as a heating system and has very high operating costs.”
Epeu Next Level Hydrogen did not respond to requests for clarification pv magazine.
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