Of late, Bloom Box has created a buzz in the tech community that it will revolutionize how households use the electrical grid for power supply. Bloom Box is a fuel cell that can convert oxygen and another energy source such as natural gas or bio gas into electricity. K.R. Sridhar, a former NASA scientist and the founder of Bloom Energy thinks that every house will have a Bloom Box Power Plant installed in the back yard in the true sense of the words. But are these talks realistic? Where is the catch, you must be asking yourself. Here is a comprehensive guide to get you out of trouble.
What is Bloom Box made of?
Technically, it is a solid oxide fuel cell that can use liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons (they may be fossil fuels or from a bio source) to produce electricity. The box’s ceramic plates are made by baking common beach sand. They are coated with a ‘secret’ green ink on one side to make anode and a ‘secret’ black ink to make cathode on the other side. Between ceramic plates they are using a metal alloy plate instead of platinum to cut down the cost.
How does Bloom Box work?
Sridhar was the director of the Space Technologies Laboratory at the University of Arizona and he was asked by NASA to create a way to create oxygen in Mars so that life can sustain there. His team made a device that would use solar power electricity and Mars Water to produce oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for powering the vehicles. However, the [roject was scrapped and Sridhar reverse engineered the system to suck oxygen and create electricity in turn for that.
Basically, the fuel cell is entirely self sufficient. Oxygen is fed to one side and the fuel to the other. The two combine within the cell creating electricity from the chemical reaction. But what makes Bloom Box so interesting is that the carbon di oxide produced in the process will be put back through the system which can be then be again used as a fuel. This makes the thing more efficient producing more power and less greenhouse gas waste.
Is the Bloom Box technology totally revolutionary?
Fuel Cell Technology is here for quite some time but normally it needs precious metals such as platinum. This restricts their widespread usage. Bloom Box technology is new as the fuel cells are constructed with ceramic wafers coated with a special green and black ink developed by Sridhar.
What is the price of a Bloom Box?
Here is the real catch of the device. Currently a decent refrigerator sized Bloom Box created for Organizations cost about $700,000 to $800,000. Sridhar thinks that if it is mass produced to achieve economies of scale, a Bloom Box for a home could be produced for $3,000. But even that is a big price for many of us and most probably this will be the reason why many will be refrained from using the device like the solar power or the wind power. Two of those units would be needed for a typical American home and a European home can make do with one of them. Sridhar is confident that, if used in his native country India, it can power at least four average homes.
Is there anyone who uses a real Bloom Box?
The Bloom Box has not yet been manufactured for home use. Corporate Organizations like Google, eBay and a few more Fortune 100 organizations are using Bloom Box to run their systems and the report is positive so far. eBay claims that they have saved an annual $100,000 using the refrigerator sized Bloom Boxes that cost about $700,000.
Who is backing Bloom Box project?
John Doerr from venture capital powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is the main man supporting the project. Doerr is known for his investments in Google, Sun, Netscape, Zazzle, Amazon and more but he has now turned from the Internet to the green issues. Kleiner Perkins partners Al Gore and Colin Powell is also reported to be involved in funding the project. Sunnyvale’s Bloom Energy is backed by a reported $400 million in venture capital so far.
Conclusion
In the world of energy, as they say, the Holy Grails is perhaps the power source that is inexpensive and clean at the same time. There are many start ups in Silicon Valley that are working to make one and Bloom Energy is perhaps the most promising among them. Only time will tell its future. Let us wait till then.
