The Bloom Box - A clean power plant, in your backyard?

[Wraith]

What is a Bloom Energy Server (aka Bloom Box)? It's a distributed power plant, made up of fuel cells, that takes in fuel and oxygen to generate electricity. The full size Energy Server, for corporate use, is about the size of a van, costs about $700k, and can generate about 100kW, which can power a 30,000 sq. ft. office building, or about 100 average American homes.

Starting small, a single cell (the cell itself apparently the size of a CD case) can generate 25W. A "stack" of cells can generate 1kW (about enough to power one American home). A "module" can generate 25kW. And a full Sever system 100kW.

The company has been working on this technology for years, but recently was featured on 60 Minutes and had an official unveiling press conference today. A few big companies including eBay, Google, Staples, FedEx, Walmart, Coca-Cola and Cox have been running these units. The 5 unit installation at eBay has been running for about 9 months and provides about 15% of the power at their campus. Google's has been running 4 units for a year and a half, with the project having 98% availability and delivering 3.8 million kWh.

It's not emission free, if you use fossil fuel like natural gas, which the currently operating systems seem to be using, but it's estimated to be about twice as efficient as utility-scale power generation with natural gas. And it able to use renewable energy sources as well (biogas, cellulosic ethanol, solar, etc.).

Bloom hopes to bring the price down to $3000 for a single-home unit, over the next 5-10 years.


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/02/2010-02-24-bloomenergy-4-1267034486.jpg

eBay's Bloom Energy Servers, being shown to the press:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/02/bloom-es-hands-on-2010-02-2414-47-09-rm-eng.jpg


Links/Articles:

Bloom Energy Website (http://www.bloomenergy.com/)

Engadget:


The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video) (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/22/the-bloom-box-a-power-plant-for-the-home-video/)
Live from the Bloom Box press event (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/live-from-the-bloom-box-press-event/)
Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video! (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/bloom-box-energy-server-hands-on-literally-with-video/)
Photo Gallery: Bloom Box Energy Server hands-on (http://www.engadget.com/photos/bloom-box-energy-server-hands-on/)
Photo Gallery: Bloom Energy press shots (http://www.engadget.com/photos/bloom-energy/)


DailyTech:


Is the "Magic" Alternative Energy Bloom Box for Real? (http://www.dailytech.com/Is+the+Magic+Alternative+Energy+Bloom+Box+for+Real/article17752.htm)


Computerworld (AU):


Bloom fuel cell: Individual power plant in a box (http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/337463/bloom_fuel_cell_individual_power_plant_box/)


CS Monitor:


Bloom Box: What is it and how does it work? (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0222/Bloom-Box-What-is-it-and-how-does-it-work)
Bloom Box: What 60 Minutes left out (http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0222/Bloom-Box-What-60-Minutes-left-out)
Bloom Energy press conference: Bloom box officially unveiled (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0224/Bloom-Energy-press-conference-Bloom-box-officially-unveiled)

[Karak]

Ended up reading about this on the Gaf a day or so ago and was amazed. Sounds cool. Not perfect but another unique solution to the problems that plague us.

[Generation ABXY]

Interesting. I've always liked the idea of a one-time fee for my energy needs, so, even if it isn't exactly there, I'll be sure to keep an eye on this.

[Matthias]

I've been doing research work with these for about a year actually. Rather, I've been using statistical data about college campuses to create a model to determine whether using an (often large) number of these would be feasible to supply a university or large research park with power. The units we use run off of natural gas, and are tri-generative, so they can produce electricity, heat, and cooling. It's really neat stuff.

[Wasson_]

as it stands...you choose a Bloom Box, your paying out the ass for a mere 100KW. "cleanness" be damned. The technology is progressive, and I especially appreciate the fact that some of it was originally intended to support a Mars Mission, but as it stands the costs need to come down sharply. But I'm sure they well.

I wish there was some more technical information available on it.

[Wasson_]

I've been doing research work with these for about a year actually. Rather, I've been using statistical data about college campuses to create a model to determine whether using an (often large) number of these would be feasible to supply a university or large research park with power. The units we use run off of natural gas, and are tri-generative, so they can produce electricity, heat, and cooling. It's really neat stuff.


Granted, since they are using an aerobic process to produce electricity they would, but do they produce enough heat to where they need their own internal cooling system?

[Matthias]

Granted, since they are using an aerobic process to produce electricity they would, but do they produce enough heat to where they need their own internal cooling system?

To my knowledge, no. We were working with generic units, but I believe the model used units that just feed any unused heat to a heatsink. This is after the heat is used to take care of heating needs, then fed through a condenser to take care of cooling needs, at a relatively poor coefficient (2u heat : 1u cooling). We found we didn't really have large excess heat with any of our sample locations at any point of the year, because we can easily tune the efficiency of the generative reaction.

[muddi900]

What fuel for the 'fuel cell' does it use? Magiks? This smells? Its a natural gas power plant. I have 2 old CAT NG-engines powering my factory 24/7, doesn't make them revolutionary!

It just sounds like a lot of anti-FUD.

[Narradisall]

I wonder how much these things weigh. I could just imagine one of the smaller units (although those still look rather hefty) being stolen out someones back garden.

[Inspector Fowler]

Decentralizing power production is something America needs to get on if they want to be safer. Inner cities seem to think looting is priority one in almost any situation - if somebody were to take out power to a large city for more than 24 hours, it would create a very bad situation very quickly. It's a reasonable attack avenue for terrorists because a single point of attack can create multiple areas of disruption.

If individual homes and businesses were generating their own power, it could lessen the impact.

[Wasson_]

To my knowledge, no. We were working with generic units, but I believe the model used units that just feed any unused heat to a heatsink. This is after the heat is used to take care of heating needs, then fed through a condenser to take care of cooling needs, at a relatively poor coefficient (2u heat : 1u cooling). We found we didn't really have large excess heat with any of our sample locations at any point of the year, because we can easily tune the efficiency of the generative reaction.

I'm guessing that past a certain output threshold, they start to loose efficiency? Do they handle changes in load normally? I guess I'm interested as to how quickly they can seemingly "passively" oxidize their available fuel to produce current. As opposed to like an emergency generator that just increases the fuel / throttle when greater load is put on it. Is it pretty much the same concept?

[Matthias]

I'm guessing that past a certain output threshold, they start to loose efficiency? Do they handle changes in load normally? I guess I'm interested as to how quickly they can seemingly "passively" oxidize their available fuel to produce current. As opposed to like an emergency generator that just increases the fuel / throttle when greater load is put on it. Is it pretty much the same concept?

To my knowledge, not for electrical current. If there is a threshold like the one you mention, the systems are designed not to surpass that. The units are designed to work in parallel, so if you expect to significantly surpass the rated power capabilities of a single unit often enough that you'd empty out the units buffered storage, you keep a second unit ready to go, or even keep two running under better constraints.

I don't really have any data on the spin-up/spin-down rate for units. The model probably have these values somewhere internally, but we work using average power consumptions over 15 minute increments, and all I can say for certain is that the units can change rates well enough to handle any changes we've encountered between increment averages.

[Wasson_]

I see, that's pretty cool stuff. WHELP, my curiosity is satiated for now. :)

[Xerxes]

I think I'd be more impressed if it was hydro powered or something.

[Wraith]

I think I'd be more impressed if it was hydro powered or something.Well, sure, if you live next to a big river, maybe.

[Xerxes]

Well, sure, if you live next to a big river, maybe.

Nooo like hydrogen fuel cells.

[Wraith]

Nooo like hydrogen fuel cells.Well, most hydrogen produced today is derived from natural gas, so this really isn't all that different.

The nitty-gritty details of the Bloom Energy box (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10460151-64.html) (CNet)Sridhar explained, for example, how the device creates energy. "It mixes with water, which is a byproduct of our exhaust. Water and methane goes into the system and within the system the methane and the water react," he said.
Sridhar continued. "And you get what is called a syngas right on the surface of our fuel cell and oxygen comes from the air side of the fuel cell and mixes with CO [carbon monoxide] of the syngas to form carbon dioxide and oxygen comes across the membrane again from the air side, mixes with the H2 [hydrogen] in the syngas to form water, and both of those reactions are accompanied by electrons flowing on the outside and that's the basic reaction," he said.Some of the other points Sridhar explained in the Greentech Media interview, include:

The ability of the electrodes to handle multiple fuels without the need for a switch.
The ability of the electrodes to take the fuel without the need for an external reformer (a reformer turns fuel into hydrogen.)

[Sl1pstream]

Decentralizing power production is something America needs to get on if they want to be safer. Inner cities seem to think looting is priority one in almost any situation - if somebody were to take out power to a large city for more than 24 hours, it would create a very bad situation very quickly. It's a reasonable attack avenue for terrorists because a single point of attack can create multiple areas of disruption.

If individual homes and businesses were generating their own power, it could lessen the impact.

If I was the only one in my city who still had power in a situation like that, I'd be really scared.

[Matthias]

If I was the only one in my city who still had power in a situation like that, I'd be really scared.

Well the goal would be for every home/building in the city to have their own power source, so everything functions normally if the grid falls for any duration for any reason.

[Wraith]

Parsing fact from fiction with the Bloom Energy box (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10461359-54.html) (CNet)

[Xerxes]

If I was the only one in my city who still had power in a situation like that, I'd be really scared.

Not if you were Will Smith in I AM LEGEND. :D

[muddi900]

Parsing fact from fiction with the Bloom Energy box (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10461359-54.html) (CNet)

This reads too much like a pamphlet. Just the 60 minutes segment looked like an advert. As I said this sounds too...dreamy(?) to really makes sense. Are they producing Hydrogen inside the fuel cell? How does the catalyst work the same on all resources, since all of them end up with H2 + O2 reaction?

If they hadn't listed their impressive customer list, I would've dismissed it completely!