Bloom Box Buzz

Silicon Valley start-up Bloom Energy made history today when they announced their Bloom Energy Server, nicknamed “the Bloom Box,” a very efficient mini fuel cell.   

The Bloom Box (pictured above at the eBay headquarters) converts air and fuel from nearly any source – fossil or renewable – to energy through an electrochemical process that is cleaner and much more efficient than combustion. The materials needed to make the box are cheap and abundant (unlike those used for hydrogen fuel cells). In an area roughly the size of a parking space, one box can generate enough energy for 100 homes, or a medium-sized office building.

At this morning's release event, the company’s CEO (a former NASA engineer) said that, if used in conjunction with renewable fuels, Bloom Boxes are entirely carbon-neutral and will revolutionize the energy industry. The event generated quite a buzz: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Colin Powell, and the heads of Google and Wal-Mart all attended.

--Sophie Matson/image courtesy Bloom Energy