You seem to have confused conservation of energy with conservation of momentum? Electric energy is being spent to generate thrust. What is unclear is being "pushed against" to transfer momentum.
Someone wtih this level of credentials and reputation presenting an effect that they have spent years trying to explain with a competent team and failing is absolutely interesting, even if it isn't caused by a new force and is more akin to a 'perpetual' motion machine created by an obscure interaction of existing forces.
Given the apparent openess towards reproduction and collaboration, I would the chances this is a hoax/fraud as very low, the chance that this is at least the result of an interesting mistake as high and the chances that this is a new discovery as excitingly non-zero.
Someone wtih this level of credentials and reputation presenting an effect that they have spent years trying to explain with a competent team and failing is absolutely interesting, even if it isn't caused by a new force and is more akin to a 'perpetual' motion machine created by an obscure interaction of existing forces.
Given the apparent openess towards reproduction and collaboration, I would the chances this is a hoax/fraud as very low, the chance that this is at least the result of an interesting mistake as high and the chances that this is a new discovery as excitingly non-zero.