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Bloom Energy: Personal Power Stations - Business News. Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology has been the cause of much discussion since it was first introduced in February 2010. The Bloom Box is a device designed for use as a personal power station, generating green electricity to individually power a building. As only big businesses are currently in the process of testing this innovative apparatus, sceptics are cautious if this device will ever really come to full fruition for every day public use. Bloom Energy has been perfecting this individualised power station, said to provide clean, reliable and affordable fuel cells, for the last eight years.

However, the development was kept somewhat secretive. Major players like Walmart, Coca Cola, eBay, FedEx and Google stand on Bloom Energy’s side, as the first to test the box’s capabilities. According to John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, five boxes were installed, and over the period of nine months have already saved the company more than $100,000 in electricity costs. Google Using Bloom Box, But Not in Data Center « Data Center Knowledge.

{*style:<i>By: Rich Miller February 22nd, 2010 </i>*} in Share was the first customer for Bloom Energy, and is using the startup’s gas-powered fuel cells in its operations. But is Google using the “Bloom Box” units in one of its data centers? 60 Minutes reported Sunday that Google has been using four Bloom Boxes to power one of its data centers for the last 18 months. It turns out that’s not quite correct. The Bloom Energy units run on methane or other hydrocarbons. Despite those issues, there are a number of data center projects that have incorporated fuel cells using natural gas or biogas. T-Systems is using a “hot module” fuel cell to provide power for a server room in a facility in Munich, Germany, which runs on biogas supplied by a planet in nearby Pliening.

Fujitsu has used a fuel cell in its Sunnyvale data center . Verizon has been using fuel cell technology to power one of its facilities in Garden City, N.Y., on Long Island. Posted February 23rd, 2010 [...] Bob L [ . . . ] [ . . . ] [...] Almost Everything You Want to Know About the Bloom Energy Box [VIDEOS] By now, you have probably heard of the Bloom Box, the green fuel cell device that promises to soon power our homes. After appearing on CBS' 60 Minutes last week, its sand-based fuel cells generated a ton of buzz and media attention. Yesterday, Bloom Energy launched the Bloom Box in front of hundreds of investors, press, and well-known figures, including General Colin Powell (who sits on the board), California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Google Co-founder Larry Page.

What exactly is this energy-generating device, though? How does it work? And when can we expect it in our homes? What Is the Bloom Box? At the core, the Bloom Box (or the Bloom Energy Server) is an electricity-generating device that takes fuel and air and turns them into power. The company behind it, Bloom Energy, hasn't generated a lot of attention. If you want to learn exactly what this box is about, check out the 60 Minutes video, embedded below: Watch CBS News Videos Online How Does the Bloom Box Create Electricity? Sustainability Council | C3. Adobe Plugs in the Biggest Bloom Box Yet. Post from Fast Company on 29 September 2010 11:06:55 AM. © Fast Company Bloom Energy, the much-hyped startup behind the Bloom Energy Server fuel cell device (aka the Bloom Box), has mostly remained quiet since its February launch --until now.

Software giant Adobe just installed 12 100-kilowatt Bloom Energy Servers at its San Jose headquarters, marking Bloom's largest installation yet. The servers' 1.2 megawatts of power will be enough to power one third of Adobe's electricity. Randall H. Knox III, senior director of Global Workplace Solutions at Adobe, explained : "Installing Bloom Energy fuel cells supports Adobe's efforts to remain at the forefront of utilizing clean technologies.

" That's true enough--Adobe is using methane from a landfill as a feedstock for the fuel cells, so the company's Bloom Boxes will produce net zero carbon emissions. And unlike solar and wind, the fuel cell boxes aren't reliant on optimum weather conditions. Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email . Could Bloom Box revolutionize power industry? - power management, Google, ebay, Bloom Box. A Silicon Valley start-up is getting ready to unveil an energy device this week that executives say could one day power individual homes and businesses while replacing the traditional power grid. Bloom Energy, one of the 26 companies named in the World Economic Forum's list of top 2010 Tech Pioneers , took some of the wraps off its Bloom Box in a story that ran last night on the CBS television show 60 Minutes . An interview with K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, during the piece has created significant online buzz, including descriptions of the Bloom Box device as the "Holy Grail of clean energy.

" Bloom Energy is expected to unveil the new device on Wednesday. Sridhar said the box is mostly a collection of fuel cells that use oxygen and fuel to create electricity without creating any emissions. Oxygen is drawn into one side of the cell, while a fuel, such as a natural gas or bio-fuel, is drawn into the other side. Fuel Cell Technology Is Blooming! Bloom Box Powers Google And Ebay | Latest Trend. + New .COMs $7.49/yr plus 18 cents/yr ICANN fee. Discount based on new one-year registration prices as of 4/8/2011 with sale price reflected in your shopping cart at checkout.

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Is a Bloom Box a Good Investment for Your Company? | Business. Last week brought the unveiling of the Bloom Energy Server, a fuel-cell energy generator that spent many years shrouded in secrecy and hype. Now that it's out, well, the hype remains to be verified or dispelled. In a nutshell, the Bloom Energy Server takes natural gas, biogas, or other hydrocarbons and converts them to energy. Eventually, Bloom Energy plans to be able to use solar or wind power to provide fuel for the server, but that technology is not in play yet. The innovation in a Bloom box is its use of common, low-cost materials -- a type of silicon -- in its fuel cells.

As a result, the Energy Server can generate electricity at the competitive rate of eight to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. To date, eight companies -- major players all -- have purchased Bloom boxes, an investment of $700,000 to $800,000 per box. To find out what drove these companies to sign on with Bloom Energy, we spoke to several proud owners. eBay Secondly, eBay was simply out of roof space for more solar.

FedEx. FuelCell Energy. Secretive hydrogen fuel company, Ion America , raises $103M. Ion America, the secretive Silicon Valley (Moffett Field) start-up apparently developing a fuel cell to produce hydrogen and electricity to power cars and trucks, has raised $103 million in its latest equity financing, its fourth round. That is a lot of money, and we are not surprised, because the hand of Silicon Valley firm New Enterprise Associates is behind this one -- and the firm, fresh from raising one of the largest venture funds ever, is getting aggressive in pushing investments in green technologies.

(It is a hot sector right now, and it is one that can absorb a lot of cash, because presumably factories will be built down the line). Ion America filed a statement about the financing at the Securities & Exchange Commission, and VentureWire reported on it this morning (subscription required). Investors in the company include NEA, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mobius Venture Capital. The total funding is now $165 million. (PS. Links to blogs that reference this entry: