The House Committee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence heard testimony from Keith Mazarin, president of MidAmerican Group, on technology his company says can absorb and dissipate electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), a threat he described as capable of destroying electronics across power, communications and transportation systems.

Mazarin told the committee that his company’s technology grew out of lightning-protection work and seven years of testing that led to a unit he described as able to absorb an EMP and dissipate it to ground. "An EMP pulse overwhelms and destroys every bit of electronics," Mazarin said, summarizing the threat to household and infrastructure electronics.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed for details about the device’s real-world capacity and limits and raised broader concerns about protecting hospitals, banks and other critical infrastructure. The members noted the state cannot reasonably protect every home at once and focused discussion on safeguarding key nodes of the grid and emergency services.

What Mazarin said: He described the company as a Michigan-based firm and said the product was the result of testing that began with lightning-protection units the company has installed globally. He told the committee the product had been tested by laboratories in the United States and said it passed lab testing that showed it could withstand high-voltage pulses. He cited two historical examples of large-scale electromagnetic events — a high-altitude blast in 1962 that affected infrastructure in Hawaii and the 1989 Quebec solar storm — as illustrations of the potential effects on power systems.

Technical claims and limits: Mazarin outlined the EMP classification scheme (E1, E2, E3) and said his system was designed to address all three. He said the device requires only a ground cable and no external power once installed. He told the committee a single unit currently defends roughly a 125-foot diameter area and that protecting a typical building of the size discussed would require a series of units — he estimated eight for the committee building as an example. He contrasted his device with Faraday cages, which he said are bulky and can cost millions of dollars to install for small areas; he estimated a Faraday cage might cost about $4,000,000 to protect a roughly 24-by-24-foot enclosure, while describing his solution as deployable for a "couple hundred thousand" dollars for certain installations.

Deployment and customers: Mazarin said the Department of Defense uses Faraday cages for hardened facilities but that they are not mobile; he said his company has begun limited installations this year and that the military has expressed interest in additional testing. He also said the product could be useful for data centers and for shielding selected buildings on military bases.

Questions from members: Lawmakers asked whether EMPs can be detected before they hit and were told there is no practical early warning for the fastest E1 pulses; Mazarin said his units include metering so they record the characteristics of any pulse that occurs. Members asked about the range of man-made EMP devices referenced by Mazarin; he described known mobile systems as able to fire pulses across distances on the order of a few miles but said detailed threat data was outside the presentation.

Committee action and next steps: The committee approved the minutes of its Oct. 22 meeting on a motion by Representative Conlon without objection and did not take further formal action on the presentation. Several members asked staff to follow up and said they would consider whether the state should explore pilot protections for critical infrastructure.

Provenance: The presentation began when Keith Mazarin addressed the committee and ran through his company history and device testing; members’ technical questions and the committee’s closing remarks followed. The committee did not vote on procurement, rules changes or legislation during this meeting.

Ending: Committee leadership encouraged continued conversations with Mazarin and with state and federal partners about EMP threats and possible pilot projects focused on essential infrastructure such as hospitals and banks.