Bloom Energy uses fuel-cell technology
“It is real. It works,” said K.R. Sridhar on “60 Minutes.”
He is talking about Bloom Energy’s invention, the Bloom Box, which creates power using fuel cells. Sridhar hopes that every home in the U.S. will soon house a Bloom Box. The invention can provide electricity at a lower cost than a regular utility bill, and it’s better for the environment.
How does Bloom Energy operate?
Sridhar, co-founder of Bloom Energy and the scientist responsible for the making of the fuel-cell-powered Bloom Box, recently appeared on “60 Minutes” to talk about Bloom Energy. Luckily, the creation of his company did not require personal loans. He was given several hundred million dollars in capital investments from the same place – capital firm Kleiner Perkins – that helped fund Google, Amazon and Netscape.
The Boom Box, according to the New York Times, “generates its power wirelessly through a combination of oxygen and a fossil fuel – natural gas, bio-gas, etc.” The fuel cells in the Bloom Box use sand baked into a ceramic and coated with proprietary inks, said Sridhar on “60 Minutes”. Bloom Energy’s Bloom Box will officially be unveiled Wednesday in San Jose.
Testing, commentary, and skeptics
Kleiner Perkins reports that if a home uses Bloom Energy instead of going through a utility company, its carbon emissions will be reduced by about half, and it costs less. Michael Kanellos, editor-in-chief of GreenTech Media, is one of the many that won’t believe it until they see it.
“I’m hopeful, but I’m skeptical,” Kanellos said. “People have tried fuel cells since the 1830s.”
However, Bloom Energy fuel cell technology is good enough for Google. For the past 18 months, Google’s headquarters in California has been receiving power from a Bloom Box. “We have a 400-kilowatt installation on Google’s main campus that delivers clean and affordable power,” said Google spokesman Jamie Yood. Others who have also used the Bloom Box include Wal-Mart, eBay, and FedEx. Keep your eye on bloomenergy.com for the official public unveiling.
Tags: Bloom Box, Bloom Energy, Fuel Cell, Kleiner Perkins, Personal Loans
