Bloom Energy to Unveil Bloom Boxes Wednesday
Bloom Energy is expected to unveil its Bloom Box fuel cells Wednesday. We noted the potential for Bloom Boxes to be a game changer some time ago. And anticipation for an announcement has been mounting, especially since the Bloom Box was featured in "60 Minutes" program by Lesley Stahl.
If the reports about the abilities of the Bloom Box are correct, it truly could be a game changer. So far the claims are that:
- The primary material in the Bloom Box is beach sand, a plentiful and ubiquitous resource, which is baked into thin ceramic wafers.
- The wafers are painted with proprietary inks on each side.
- Oxygen is introduced to one side and fuel (typically natural gas) is introduced to the other.
- The result is a chemical reaction (not combustion) that produces electricity.
Google, Ebay, Wal-Mart and others have reportedly used the bloom boxes extensively. In the "60 Minutes" report by Stahl, the Ebay CEO indicated that Bloom Boxes at the Ebay campus performed much better than the acres of solar panels on Ebay roof tops.
Moreover, the Bloom Boxes are reportedly very fuel efficient. We have seen reports that the boxes are 50-60% more efficient than producing electricity through traditional gas turbines. And, in this age of carbon consciousness, the emissions are far lower than other fossil fuel electricity generation methods.
Oh yes . . . and the cost? Commercial versions under testing at Google, Ebay and other locations currently sell for around $800,000. Home models, with a target availibity of within five years, are supposed to come in below $3,000.
