EcoHearth Environmental Website - Best ecology websites, environmental blogs, news, activism, green jobs, green products

A company with origins in NASA’s Mars program claims to have developed a revolutionary energy source. The normally secretive California-based Bloom Energy Corporation issued a press release (pdf) to introduce its fuel cell and allowed 60 Minutes a rare look at the technology. The Bloom Energy Server™, also called the Bloom Box, promises constant, renewable power that removes dependence on the power grid, produces energy more efficiently than current methods and allows users to greatly reduce their carbon footprints.

What Is a Fuel Cell?
There are several different types of fuel cells, but they all have the same basic structure: two electrodes—an anode and a cathode—and an electrolyte. The cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction whereby the electrolyte carries charged particles from one electrode to the other. A catalyst—such as an expensive precious metal like platinum—or high heat is used to speed up the reaction. Bloom’s new server uses solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that operate at high heat, making a catalyst unnecessary. They also do not contain harsh acids or molten materials found in some fuel cells. SOFCs have faced several engineering problems that Bloom Energy claims to have solved, including developing an inexpensive, durable material for the electrolyte, and a process for recycling the heat.

The Bloom Box Advantage
The Bloom fuel cell, described by the company as a constantly working battery, uses fuel, oxygen and heat to produce electricity, water, heat and carbon dioxide. The fuel can be natural gas, landfill gas or even solar; the high heat permits this flexibility. The water and heat are recycled to continue the electrochemical reaction.

The fuel cell consists of an electrolyte made from inexpensive sand baked into a thin ceramic disc a little larger than a playing card. It is coated on either side with proprietary inks to form the anode and the cathode. The discs, each of which can power a standard light bulb, are stacked together with a thin metal plate in between them. When 64 stacks are combined into a server with the footprint of a parking space, they can power 100 average US homes or a small business.

The server is placed near the structure it powers and uses a local fuel source, forgoing the standard electrical grid connection. This adds to the server’s energy savings as power lines lose a significant amount of energy in transmission. According to Bloom’s principal cofounder and CEO, Dr. K.R. Sridhar, the Bloom Box is similar to the cell phone providing service without traditional phone lines, and could bring power to remote locations and third-world countries.

How Green Is the Bloom?
How green the Bloom Energy Servers will be depends on the fuel used. With natural gas, they will consume—per watt generated—about half the amount of a standard power plant, and produce much less carbon dioxide, as they do not involve a combustion reaction. Using landfill gases and other renewable sources like solar increase their environmental value. According to the press release,

Depending on whether they are using a fossil or renewable fuel, [customers] can also achieve a 40-100% reduction in their carbon footprint, compared with the US grid.

Bloom Box Prospects
Within 10 years, Bloom Energy wants to reduce the cost of the server to $3,000 and put one in every house for independent electricity generation. While skeptics doubt the likelihood of meeting this ambitious goal, the Bloom Box has advanced beyond theory. Currently in California there are 20 companies testing the servers, including Google, Walmart, eBay, Staples, FedEx and Coca-Cola. Companies paid about $700,000 per server, an investment Bloom Energy predicts will pay off in energy savings in 3-5 years. A few problems have arisen in these tests, yet Bloom Energy seems confident that they are minor and easily fixed.

Bloom Boxes are not magic; they do require fuel and they do produce carbon dioxide. And all the details about these fuel cells are not yet known, as Bloom has just begun to share information about its product. Yet Bloom’s claim of efficient energy production using a variety of inexpensive and less-polluting fuels that could replace the energy-wasting power grid has deservingly garnered much attention. Even if the Bloom Box doesn’t change the world, it may advance technology toward a truly environmentally friendly method of producing energy.

Help the Earth, Spread the Word: Share this article with family and friends by clicking on the "Email This" or "Share This" links below right. Then see TODAY'S TOP STORIES.

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments

Write comment