Bloom Energy

CCRES proudly presents Bloom Energy

 

Bloom Energy traces its roots to work performed by Dr. K.R. Sridhar, Bloom founder and Chief Executive Officer, in connection with creating a technology to convert Martian atmospheric gases to oxygen for propulsion and life support. Dr. Sridhar and his team built a fuel cell capable of producing air and fuel from electricity generated by a solar panel.
They soon realized that their technology could have an even greater impact here on Earth.
In 2001, when their project ended, the team decided to continue their research and start a company. Originally called Ion America, Bloom Energy, was founded with the mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone on earth.
In 2002, John Doerr, and Kleiner Perkins became the first investors in the company. Kleiner Perkins was legendary for its early backing of other industry changing companies, like Google, Amazon.com, Netscape, and Genentech, but Bloom was its first clean tech investment. In fact, at that time, clean tech was not even really a word.
With financing in place, the team packed three U-hauls and headed to NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley to set up shop. Over the next few years, the technology quickly developed from concept, to prototype, to product, as the major technological challenges were solved and the systems became more powerful, more efficient, more reliable, and more economical.
In early 2006 Bloom shipped its first 5kW field trial unit to the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. After two years of successful field trials in Tennessee, California, and Alaska, to validate the technology, the first commercial (100kW) products were shipped to Google in July 2008.
Since that time Bloom's Energy Servers have helped our customers generate millions of kWhs of electricity and eliminate millions of pounds of CO₂ from the environment.
From humble beginnings on Mars, Bloom Energy is now changing the Earth for the better.

What is an Energy Server?

Built with our patented solid oxide fuel cell technology, Bloom's Energy Server™ is a new class of distributed power generator, producing clean, reliable, affordable electricity at the customer site.
Fuel cells are devices that convert fuel into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process rather than dirty combustion. They are like batteries except that they always run. Our particular type of fuel cell technology is different than legacy "hydrogen" fuel cells in three main ways:

1. Low cost materials – our cells use a common sand-like powder instead of precious
   metals like platinum or corrosive materials like acids.
2. High electrical efficiency – we can convert fuel into electricity at nearly twice the
   rate of some legacy technologies
3. Fuel flexibility – our systems are capable of using either renewable or fossil fuels

Each Bloom Energy Server provides 200kW of power, enough to meet the baseload needs of 160 average homes or an office building... day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. For more power simply add more energy servers.

 

Energy Server Architecture

At the heart of every Energy Server™ is Bloom's patented solid oxide fuel cell technology.
Each Energy Server consists of thousands of Bloom's fuel cells. Each cell is a flat solid ceramic square made from a common sand-like "powder."
Each Bloom Energy fuel cell is capable of producing about 25W... enough to power a light bulb. For more power, the cells are sandwiched, along with metal interconnect plates into a fuel cell "stack". A few stacks, together about the size of a loaf of bread, is enough to power an average home.
In an Energy Server, multiple stacks are aggregated together into a "power module", and then multiple power modules, along with a common fuel input and electrical output are assembled as a complete system.

For more power, multiple Energy Server systems can be deployed side by side.
In addition to Bloom's unmatched performance, this modular architecture offers...

• easy and fast deployment
• inherent redundancy for fault tolerance
• high availability (one power module can be serviced while all others continue to operate)
• mobility

 

How a SOFC Works

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Fuel cells were invented over a century ago and have been used in practically every NASA mission since the 1960's, but until now, they have not gained widespread adoption because of their inherently high costs.
Legacy fuel cell technologies like proton exchange membranes (PEMs), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs), and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), have all required expensive precious metals, corrosive acids, or hard to contain molten materials. Combined with performance that has been only marginally better than alternatives, they have not been able to deliver a strong enough economic value proposition to overcome the status quo.
Some makers of legacy fuel cell technologies have tried to overcome these limitations by offering combined heat and power (CHP) schemes to take advantage of their wasted heat. While CHP does improve the economic value proposition, it only really does so in environments with exactly the right ratios of heat and power requirements on a 24/7/365 basis. Everywhere else the cost, complexity, and customization of CHP tends to outweigh the benefits.
For decades, experts have agreed that solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) hold the greatest potential of any fuel cell technology. With low cost ceramic materials, and extremely high electrical efficiencies, SOFCs can deliver attractive economics without relying on CHP. But until now, there were significant technical challenges inhibiting the commercialization of this promising new technology. SOFCs operate at extremely high temperature (typically above 800°C). This high temperature gives them extremely high electrical efficiencies, and fuel flexibility, both of which contribute to better economics, but it also creates engineering challenges.
Bloom has solved these engineering challenges. With breakthroughs in materials science, and revolutionary new design, Bloom's SOFC technology is a cost effective, all-electric solution.
Over a century in the making, fuel cells are finally clean, reliable, and most importantly, affordable.
Click here to see how a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell works.

 

Clean Energy: Bloom Energy delivers Better Electrons™

All electrons are not created equal. Only Bloom Energy delivers electrons that are clean and reliable at the same time… and just for you. That makes them better electrons.
Bloom Energy generates clean, reliable power onsite with minimal environmental impact, making the Bloom Energy Server one of the most sustainable solutions on the market today. When compared to alternative sources, Bloom delivers superior results, whether sustainability is measured in terms of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, avoided air pollutants, reduced water use, small physical footprint, quiet operation, recyclability, high efficiency — or all of the above.
Higher Efficiency
Bloom Energy Servers convert natural gas or renewable biogas into electricity using a direct electrochemical reaction rather than combustion. This highly efficient process is not bound by the same thermodynamic constraints¹ for creating electricity, and thus enables exceptionally high conversion efficiency. Today, Bloom ships systems with an industry-leading 60+ percent electrical efficiency, based on the lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel — a figure that has increased markedly since our first commercial shipments in 2008. Looking forward, we see a clear pathway to deliver even higher efficiency.
By contrast, the average coal-fired power plant — with over a century of R&D behind it — converts only 33 percent of its energy input into electricity.² Yet because no one wants a coal plant in their "backyard", this electricity must be transported over hundreds of miles of power lines, which lose a part of the produced power — anywhere from 7 - 10 percent in the developed world, and up to 50 percent³ in developing economies. Since Bloom Energy Servers typically generate power at the customer's site, energy is generated & provided directly where it is needed, thus avoiding these losses altogether.
As the world transitions to a renewable energy future, the most sustainable pathway is to consume our precious resources more efficiently. It's also smarter — fuel savings mean saving money.
Virtually no Smog Forming Particulates
Bloom Energy Servers convert fuel into delivered electricity at the highest level of efficiency amongst commercially available technologies. Greater efficiency means less fuel consumed to produce the same output of electricity and that lower fuel consumption corresponds to less CO₂ emitted. Even when compared to the most advanced, centralized combined cycle gas turbine power plants, Bloom has higher delivered electricity efficiency and therefore a lower CO₂ footprint.
The flexibility of the Bloom Energy Server allows customers to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions while continuing to power their operations reliably. When fueled with biogas, the Bloom Energy Server provides 100 percent carbon neutral power generation. When powered by natural gas, it releases a fraction of the CO₂ produced by coal-fired plants or even modern combined cycle natural gas plants, when one accounts for line losses (as recommended by regulators) . As businesses prepare for a carbon-constrained future, the Bloom Energy Server offers an elegant and flexible solution to meet a customer's sustainability needs.

Low CO₂ Emissions
Because Bloom uses solid oxide fuel cell technology that converts fuel into electricity via an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion, Bloom Energy Servers virtually eliminate smog forming particulates and harmful NOx and SOx emissions that are emitted by conventional power plants. These invisible emissions cause smog, asthma, and harm human health⁵. Bloom Servers also generate only a fraction of the carbon dioxide produced by a conventional modern power plant equipped with the best available control technology (BACT) — the US EPA's benchmark.
Land Savings
Large centralized power plants, whether they are gas fired, wind, solar or hydropower, require large land areas far from most population centers. The electricity they produce is diminished through transmission and distribution losses. The Bloom Energy Server, on the other hand, is a compact solution with units occupying only a slightly larger footprint than a parking space. They are located onsite — eliminating T&D losses — and are well-suited for urban environments.
Bloom Energy Servers also deliver extraordinary water savings. Bloom's technology uses no water beyond a 240-gallon injection at start up. By comparison, the average U.S. coal plant uses 1.07 million gallons per 200 kW annually; and combined cycle natural gas plants use 648,240 gallons per 200 kW annually. A supermarket powered by a 200 kW Bloom Energy Server saves more than 1 million gallons a year.

Additionally, the simple, modular, building-block architecture is easy to install and easy to buy. As your energy needs grow, Bloom can grow with you, all the while delivering clean, reliable electricity —the benefits of Better Electrons^TM.

 

Changing the Face of Energy

Bloom Energy is changing the way the world generates and consumes energy.
Our unique on-site power generation systems utilize an innovative new fuel cell technology with roots in NASA's Mars program.
Derived from a common sand-like powder, and leveraging breakthrough advances in materials science, our technology is able to produce clean, reliable, affordable power,... practically anywhere,... from a wide range of renewable or traditional fuels.
Our Energy Servers™ are among the most efficient energy generators on the planet; providing for significantly reduced electricity costs and dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions.
By generating power on-site, where it is consumed, Bloom Energy offers increased electrical reliability and improved energy security, providing a clear path to energy independence.
Founded in 2001, Bloom Energy is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Bloom Energy
1299 Orleans Drive
Sunnyvale, California 94089
View in Google Maps
Telephone: (408) 543-1500
Fax: (408) 543-1501
Web: www.bloomenergy.com
Bloom Energy is a private company and is not listed on any publicly traded exchanges.