EFN

Bloom Energy has been quietly revolutionizing the power industry. The company, headquartered in Sunnyvale California, has announced a fuel cell technology that will allow homes and businesses to generate their electricity without the need to be tied to the grid.

Bloom claims the technology was derived from spinoffs from NASA’s Mars program. Individual Bloom cells only generate about 25 watts, but after stacking thousands together they form an energy block capable of providing clean energy sufficient to run any business. Bloom boxes use a solid oxide fuel cell. The fuel cell at the heart of a Bloom box is a small wafer composed of purified silicon dioxide (sand). The wafer acts as the electrolyte. The wafers are painted on both sides with an ink whose composition is a closely guarded secret. The ink on one side acts as the anode and another ink is used as the cathode. The main box is composed of hundreds of these individual cells. Each cell is an electrochemical device that produces electricity directly from the chemical reaction of it’s fuel with oxygen.

Most fuel cell technologies of the past were based on hydrogen and oxygen as the primary fuels. Hydrogen fuel cells are expensive to make and maintain. Bloom’s revolution is its ability to use many different fuels to generate electricity.

This flex fuel approach allows a much cheaper and more efficient power plant to be built. The Bloom cell can use natural gas and bio-fuels to generate electricity on site banishing the need for distribution on power lines.