Bloom Energy--Power In A Box

To call it revolutionary right now might seem being little too optimistic but it does seem to have the potential to become a truly revolutionary product. As per the company, the Bloom Energy Server is based on the solid oxide fuel cell (which the company claims can provide a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable alternative to both today’s electric grid as well as traditional renewable energy sources) and provides distributed power generation, allowing customers to efficiently create their own electricity onsite. A confident Dr. KR Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy mentioned, “We believe that we can too have the same kind of impact on energy that the mobile phone had on communications. Just as cell phones circumvented landlines to proliferate telephony, Bloom Energy will enable the adoption of distributed power as a smarter, localized energy source. Our customers are the cornerstone of that vision and we are thrilled to be working with industry leading companies to lower their energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint, improve their energy security, and showcase their commitment to a better future.“

The Idea That Led To Bloom
For NASA, Dr.Sridhar and his team were charged with building technology to help sustain life on Mars using solar energy and water to produce air to breath and fuel for transportation. They soon realized that their technology could have an even greater impact here on Earth and began work on what would become the Bloom Energy Server.



The company informed that Bloom’s fuel cell technology is fundamentally different from the legacy “hydrogen” fuel cells most people are familiar with and is distinct in four primary ways:
· It uses lower cost materials
· Provides unmatched efficiency in converting fuel to electricity
· Has the ability to run on a wide range of renewable or traditional fuels
· It is more easily deployed and maintained.

Customers and Benefits
The company further informed the customers currently successfully using the product are Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Enterprises, eBay, FedEx Express, Google, Staples and Walmart.

The company said that their customers have deployed the solution to lower and/or fix their energy costs, while significantly cutting their carbon footprint and enhancing their energy security by reducing their dependence on the grid. In addition, customers who purchase Bloom’s systems can expect a 3-5 year payback on their capital investment from the energy cost savings; and depending on whether they are using a fossil or renewable fuel, they can also achieve a 40-100% reduction in their carbon footprint as compared with the U.S. grid.

They further informed that the Bloom Energy Server converts air and nearly any fuel source – ranging from natural gas to a wide range of biogases – into electricity via a clean electrochemical process, rather than dirty combustion. Even running on a fossil fuel, the systems are approximately 67% cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant. When powered by a renewable fuel, they can be 100% cleaner. Each Energy Server consists of thousands of Bloom's fuel cells – flat, solid ceramic squares made from a common sand-like "powder."

Conclusion
The customers who are currently using the Bloom are not only happy but also praising about its benefits. Looking at the excitement it has garnered and the positive response of the current customers, it would not be a farfetched to forecast that the product will be a successful one. But whether it will remain a product or will be a revolution (like iPod), only time will say.