Science: The Bloom Box - The New Killer Fuel Cell Technology

This is already being used at big companies like Google and Walmart.  Fuel cells convert fuel into electricity through an electro-chemical process rather than combustion. Less energy is wasted in conversion and there are no polluting byproduct in making the electricity.  Bloom Energy's Bloom Boxes produce electricity at about half the cost of an electric grid. That is a very big deal.

It takes almost any fuel from ethanol to biomass and turns it into electricity. Fuel cells are nothing new, but Bloom has figured out a way to make them cheaply and efficiently. A Sridhar claims that a Bloom box, which he calls an energy server, is twice as efficient as the electricity grid. “For the same amount of electricity, you need half the fuel,” he says. “If you use a renewable fuel you are carbon neutral. Use all the electricity you want and don’t feel guilty about polluting the environment.” TC

According to Bloom Technology's website, their type of fuel cell technology is different than legacy "hydrogen" fuel cells in four main ways:

1. Low cost materials – our cells use a common sand-like powder instead of precious
   metals like platinum or corrosive materials like acids.
2. High electrical efficiency – we can convert fuel into electricity at nearly twice the
   rate of some legacy technologies
3. Fuel flexibility – our systems are capable of using either renewable or fossil fuels
4. Reversible – our technology is capable of both energy generation and storage

 Each Bloom Energy Server provides 100kW of power, enough to meet the baseload needs of 100 average homes or a small office building... day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. For more power simply add more energy servers.  Bloom Technology

 Repost from The Sagefield Post