BLOOM BOX

Bloom Box

In a breakthrough, an Indian-American rocket scientist has invented a mini power plant, which could replace expensive power houses and transmission lines.

 Christened the ‘Bloom Box,’ it would be unveiled by K.R. Sridhar in the Silicon Valley, a preview of which was given at the CBS’s popular show ‘60 Minutes’ last weekend. “It is just like a laptop of the power sector,” the CBS reported.

 Mr. Sridhar formed a company, Bloom Energy, which raised some $400 million from venture capitalists of the Silicon Valley at a time when it is tough to get money due to economic recession.

What is the Bloom box?

It's a fuel cell. While that's nothing new--as fuel cells have been around since the 1800s--it's Bloom Energy's secret sauce that makes it special.  The solid oxide fuel cell patents point to a "yttria stabilized zirconium" material. This formula is used to fabricate an ink-coated floppy-disk-size ceramic tile (with an ink-based anode and cathode) made from 'beach sand." These are then stacked  into small blocks, and multiple stacks are housed in a unit about the size of a refrigerator. Oxygen is fed into the fuel cell on one side and fuel on the other, the two combine in the cell to create a chemical reaction, which produces electricity. No burning or combustion. No power lines from an outside source.

How much does it cost to "save" money?

According to  Sridhar, the boxes that companies buy cost between $700,000 and $800,000 and the goal is to make them available to the "average person" for less than $3,000. As an example of how the Bloom box is being used in corporate America today, eBay's five boxes run on landfill waste-based bio-gas and generate more power than the company's 3,000 solar panels, according to eBay CEO John Donahoe, When averaged out over seven days, the Bloom box generates five times as much power that eBay can use, Donahoe said.

 The Bloom box is capable of generating electricity at a cost of as little as 8 cents per kilowatt hour, according to reports. Cheaper, in some cases, than commercial electricity prices. One tile generates enough electricity to power a light bulb.

What kind of fuel does it use?

Fossil fuels like natural gas or renewable fuels such as landfill gas, or bio-gas, and solar.

Who is using Bloom boxes right now?

Google, Fedex, Wal-Mart, Staples, the San Francisco Airport, and the CIA, to name some of the most high-profile companies and organizations. A total of 20 companies are testing the box in California today. A four-unit box, using natural gas, has been powering a Google data center for 18 months. Here's a yardstick: a 30,000-square-foot office building would use four of these boxes.

 

Note on "zero emissions" claim:  Bloom Energy has technology that can make fuel out of the waste products: essentially recycling the emissions--which is how the firm makes the claim of zero emissions.