Bloom Energy and Bloom Box Fuel Cells, an Introduction

The Bloom Box is being produced by a company called Bloom Energy. The original design of the product did not actually generate electricity but instead produced oxygen. In fact it was designed to produce oxygen so that distant planets could be terraformed and a livable atmosphere produced. More specifically, Mars. However, due to funding cuts the company CEO had to look into new uses for his invention.

K. R. Sridhar, the company CEO, has modified the original device so that instead of producing oxygen, it now produces clean and stable electricity. This new product was dubbed the "Bloom Box". A name given to it by Sridhar's child.

Bloom Energy has been producing the new product for at least the past few years but has just recently garnered media attention. The cells are bundled together in larger energy servers. Each one of these servers outputs up to 100kW of power. The cost of each server is currently between $700,000 to $800,000. These large units are currently in use by multiple companies in the United States. This includes Google and eBay. eBay has publicly stated that its Bloom Energy Server installations have saved the company over $100,000 in 9 months.

Sridhar has stated that he wants to bring the costs of a home sized unit down to $3,000 USD. This would allow individuals or families the opportunity to invest in a smaller unit to help bring down energy costs.

The fuel cell itself is made of thin sheets of white ceramic that use gaseous hydrocarbons such as oil, gas, or propane to generate electricity. The process that these fuel cells go through to produce electricity currently limits the lifespan of the fuel cell to around 10 years.

Bloom Energy has not released all documentation on processes that take places during the construction of the fuel cell. However, there already appear to be some rivals including Australia's Ceramic Fuel Cells company and Ballards Power in British Columbia.

If you would like to learn more about the bloom box or receive updates on investment opportunites and information on the Bloom Energy stock symbol then visit bloomboxenergy.us.