BLOOM FOR NEW ENERGY?

Bloom Energy Claims a New Fuel Cell Technology
Todd Woody, February 23, 2010 (NY Times)

"A Silicon Valley company is claiming a breakthrough in a decades-old quest to develop fuel cells that can supply affordable and relatively clean electricity. Google, Bank of America, Wal-Mart and other large corporations have been testing the devices…

"…Bloom Energy…has raised about $400 million from investors and spent nearly a decade developing a new variety of solid oxide fuel cell, considered the most efficient but most technologically challenging fuel-cell technology…K. R. Sridhar, Bloom’s co-founder and chief executive, said devices made by his company were generating electricity at a cost of 8 to 10 cents a kilowatt hour, using natural gas. That is lower than commercial electricity prices in some parts of the country…"

From CBS via YouTube

"…The company has been working on the technology for eight years while saying little. The secrecy, and the prominence of the venture capitalists backing Bloom, have fueled both hype and skepticism about its efforts..While Bloom may well have created one of the most efficient fuel cells, it is unclear how widely the company’s technology will be adopted. Cost and durability have limited the use of other types of fuel cells, and it could be years before the potential of the company’s approach is clear…

"Fuel cells, which convert hydrogen, natural gas or another fuel into electricity through an electrochemical process, have long held out the promise of cheap and plentiful energy while emitting fewer pollutants than conventional power plants. But the need to use expensive precious metals like platinum and rare earth elements in some fuel cells, and corrosive materials in others, has kept costs high and shortened their longevity."

From 16Dec71 via YouTube

"Bloom claims it has learned to make the devices from common materials that will last for years. The Bloom fuel cell’s heart is a thin white ceramic [floppy disk-like] wafer made from sand…One side of each [is] painted with a lime-green ink that acts as the anode while a black ink on the back [serves] as the cathode. Bloom executives would not disclose the composition of the ink.

"Small cells are stacked to make a larger device. As natural gas or another fuel passes over the cell and mixes with oxygen from the air, a chemical reaction generates electricity...Bloom executives contend that their device could cut the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation by at least 50 percent, depending on the type of fuel used — a claim that is likely to receive close scrutiny…[The capacity of] the stack to withstand extreme temperatures without cracking or leaking [remains to be proven]…Mr. Sridhar contends the Bloom boxes, with reasonable maintenance, will have a 10-year life span…"