New Fuel Cell Technology Unveiled

Is Mars technology the solution for Earth’s clean energy needs? CEO K.R. Sridhar of Bloom Energy discussed his company’s fuel cell technology on the CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program which aired on Feb. 21, 2010. Bloom Energy is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., and the objective for its “Bloom Box” fuel cells is to provide a lower cost power supply which requires no transmission lines and lowered emissions.

The technology was initially developed by NASA for the role of oxygen creation on Mars as part of its Mars mission. Sridhar had the breakthrough insight to reverse the process and combine inputs of fuel and oxygen to generate electricity in the fuel cell via chemical reaction. Since there is no fuel combustion or power loss through line transmission the system is much more ecologically efficient than traditional power plants and holds the promise of lower energy costs as well.

Bloom Energy has already placed Bloom Boxes at 20 companies throughout its home state of California and will have an official coming-out event on Wednesday hosted by its customer eBay. The Bloom Boxes that are now available are for commercial and industrial scale applications with home models projected to appear within 10 years.