Bloom Energy is coming out after nearly a decade of development and hundreds of millions in investment. Bloom Energy is all set to initiate its Bloom Energy Fuel Cell or the Bloom Box. The Bloom Energy fuel cell is well able of running up to 100 homes carrying the dormant to extremely alter how utilities and conglomerates identically produce and give out energy. Last Sunday, according to the sources from The Sunnyvale, Calif. Company, The massive device will be unveiled on 60 minutes. A new device that can generate power on the spot has being tested by large corporations without being connected to the electric grid.
Now Bloom energy has recruited an impressive roster of 20 early on customers, counting Wal-Mart, Google, eBay, and the big CIA itself, seeing at the preview of the episode on CBS News’ web site. Fuel cells installed which have been already got by some of them that retails between $700,000 and $800,000. On the show, some other information was also revealed, and some more will be available later in the next week’s press conference conducted by company.
To keep the technology of its bloom energy fuel cell under wrap, Bloom energy has done exceedingly well. Even during over a few fund raisers, a public assessment of its evaluation at $1.45 bill and the launch of circuitous competitor ClearEdge Power.
ClearEdge power is a company which may find itself in hot water if Bloom dazzles viewers as predictable on Sunday.
Their customer list is certainly impressive, as is the alleged backlog. And the PPA model really could impact their business model with the firm becoming an electricity supplier as well as a fuel cell supplier.
According to the CBS News article:
Stahl is the first reporter to be allowed into the Bloom Energy lab and factory where presently one box a day is built. By a chemical process that utilizes oxygen and fuel, the boxes create electricity but a chemical process does not involve fire. Bloom’s founder and CEO, K.R. Sridhar, insists all the materials in the box are cheap and available in profusion. He says each large box – - currently sells for $700-800,000 – which can power about 100 homes. They wish within 5 to 10 years to roll out a smaller home version for about $3,000 a unit.
John Doerr, the Kleiner Perkins partner has high hopes who invested in Bloom; he says “The Bloom Box is intended to replace the [electric power] grid for its customer,” he thinks existing utility companies have a problem with Bloom Energy or existing utility companies should not be threatened. He also added that “The utility companies will see this as a solution. All they need to do is buy Bloom Boxes, put them in the substation for the neighborhood and sell that electricity.”
Over the years, news and rumors on Bloom have been heard that included,
- Bloom customers include eBay, Google, Lockheed, Wal-Mart, Staples and the CIA. Backlog and sales are in the $2 billion range.
- Adobe may have purchased some Bloom boxes.
- The San Francisco Airport has Bloom fuel cells in their possession (not a rumor — SFO told me this).
- The Google fuel cell installation is 400 kilowatts.
- The solid oxide fuel cell firm is focusing on a new business model by engaging customers in a power purchase agreement (PPA). With this approach, Bloom might keep the fuel cell themselves (or own it in a joint venture with a utility) and sell the power. PPAs have been effective financing tools for solar, wind and some biomass/manure firms. PPAs also eliminate any fears about maintenance and upkeep.
- They are due for a verdict on their DOE stimulus funds shortly.
- There are rumors of an enormous government contract and a multi-million dollar order backlog from Coca-Cola and FedEx.
- eBay ordered four of the company’s 100-kilowatt units.
- East Tennessee will be the location of a 100-kilowatt demonstration fuel cell developed by Bloom that could be a precursor to the potential siting of a manufacturing facility in Tennessee. The system will be at the Electric Power Board HQ in Chattanooga. The project is funded through a federal appropriation as well as support from the Electric Power Board’s research and development organization. The system is a 25-kilowatt unit and they put four together for a 100-kilowatt system.
- The units run on natural gas, propane, biofuels or diesel which gives them about 48 percent overall of efficiency.
- Their revenue is significant; their profit, not so significant.
- Board members and observers include John Doerr of KPCB, Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures, and T.J. Rodgers, the CEO of Cypress Semiconductor.
- Advisors include Colin Powell and Floyd Kvamme
- The CEO, K.R. Sridhar, has used his investors’ considerable clout to shake every questionable politician’s hand available, including President George W. Bush, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator John Ensign, and Senator Joe Lieberman.
- Those crop circles in the late nineties? That was Bloom’s doing.
well, it seems to be an incredible “box”…
is electricity from bloom boxes cheaper than grid electricity?
hey, don’t bloom boxes operate on natural gas?