Could this revolutionize our energy production?
Posted by Jim Scherr on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
There is a small startup company in Silicon Valley, Bloom Energy, that held a press conference on 2/24 to unveil a new and innovative fuel cell that could revolutionize power generation for all time. I can not even begin to fathom the full implications this will have on future generations.
Bloom Energy grew out of a NASA project to develop technology for Mars exploration. Started in 2001, they began two years of field trials during 2006 in Tennessee, California, and Alaska, and shipped their first 100kW commercial product to Google in 2008.
Utilizing new materials based on silicon sand-like powder, the Bloom fuel cell utilize clean electro-chemical reactions rather than combustion to produce electricity. A variety of renewable and traditional fuels can be used to create the chemical reaction, allowing power generation in multiple environments. The byproducts of this reaction are water and small amounts of carbon dioxide.
Below is a link animating how the Bloom system works.
http://www.bloomenergy.com/products/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/
These solid oxide fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize power generation worldwide. When I say revolutionize, I'm not speaking in terms of the cell phone or cable television. It's more on the scale of the wheel, the incandecent light bulb, or the first computer. The effect will be cost effective localized generation of clean electricity deployable anywhere.
You will likely remember where you were when you first saw this historic innovation.