Following a prelaunch buildup that could be called the energy world’s equivalent of the Apple iPad rollout, Bloom Energy launched its cleaner-energy-in-a-box product Wednesday. The Bloom Energy Server, which uses a patented solid oxide fuel-cell technology, has already achieved a customer base that includes Coca-Cola, Cox Enterprises, eBay, FedEx, Google, Staples and Wal-Mart.
The launch was attended by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, board member Gen. Colin Powell, venture capitalist John Doerr, and executives from some of the initial customers.
Impact Like Mobile Phone
Dr. KR Sridhar, principal cofounder and CEO, said his company is “dedicated to making clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world.” In fact, he added, he believes Bloom’s technology can have “the same kind of impact on energy that the mobile phone had on communications.”
The comparison was chosen to emphasize that the Bloom Energy Server allows users to generate electricity locally, rather than receiving it via a landline from an energy company.
Sridhar and his team founded Bloom Energy in 2001, building on their work at NASA to utilize solar energy and water to generate air and fuel for astronauts on Mars.
In the earthbound adaptation, the energy server uses an electrochemical process, instead of combustion, to combine air and any of a variety of fuel sources so that electricity is generated. Each energy server houses thousands of ceramic fuel cells, which have been made from a sand-like powder and treated with a special coating.
According to Bloom Energy, when the cells are powered by a renewable fuel source, such as biogas, they can be 100 percent cleaner than electricity from a traditional coal-fired power plant. Even when fossil fuels are used, the company said the servers are about 67 percent cleaner.
When ‘Tipping Point’?
Bloom’s first corporate customer was in the summer of 2008. Since that time, customers have…