Will the Bloom box really make a difference?

[aviedw]

I stumbled upon this while checking out Google as i always do before i go to bed. Supposedly its the "Holy Grail of energy" and has been backed by major companies like Ebay, Google, Walmart just to name a few. 60 minutes ran a special and i was hoping people might check it out and post they're thoughts on the concepts of Green/Clean energy and the potional something like the blook box might have. I also was wondering what the impact that it could have on the United States and the world?

Here are a few links tell me what you think.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/19/is-k-r-sridhars-magic-box-ready-for-prime-time/

http://news.google.com/news?q=bloom+box&oe=utf-8&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&ei=q8yES4CyCI-S8Qbwp-WgAg&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsQQwAA

[user1397]

I just recently heard about this...it looks like it could really be the next big thing, perhaps it could even be the new alternative for cars?

I am quite interested in seeing how this develops.

[hobo14]

I don't see what the excitement is all about.

Yes, they improve efficiency, and yes they decentralise electricity supply, which are both great, but they're just another form of generator.

Put fuel in, get electricity out...

[cammin]

I don't see what the excitement is all about.

Yes, they improve efficiency, and yes they decentralise electricity supply, which are both great, but they're just another form of generator.

Put fuel in, get electricity out...

Agreed. Though the fact that it does it silently is nice.




As for the OP's question about the impact. It's will be like ethanol. It won't really help, but some people are going to make a lot of money due to market changes. The rest will have to pay for it.

[Sporkman]

Apparently it's a fuel cell.

[aviedw]

Yea it is a fuel sell that uses sand and an ink made from algae. And they also stated that it can use multiple types of fuel. Ebay for example if im not mistake uses bio fuels from a dump site so that zero cost in fuel accept for the cost of actually getting it there to use. And it allows you to use a lot less fuel then you normally would. It says that i can cut fuel cost in half. I know these are all big claims but sometimes you have to reach far to go far. And the same guy that developed this technology is the same guy that NASA was using to develop a machine that would crate oxygen for the Mars missions.

This might not be the full answer but we really need to move forward with this technology.

This link is suppose to reveal something in the next two hours. Im waiting to see.

http://www.bloomenergy.com/

[pookiebear]

im excited to see the real numbers to see if the PR claims are close to being true. I have natural Gas here at my house. I would hook it up to test, we can see if my total energy bill goes up or down. For $3000 for a house unit I would have to be in a house for a few years to recover that cost to do the retrofit. But it would be worth it in the long run to not be on a coal power plant.

I bet the guys that do mobile welding will benefit from it too, in reduced fuel costs to run their equipment on their trucks.

Another Idea is an electric car, with a natural gas tank that is refilled at home, the gas feeds the bloombox, and the bloombox keeps your battery charge topped off for to drive engine and gives longer commutes.

[darrenn]

Yeah this technology is not a panacea but still an amazing advancement. If they get the price down to three thousand a box I would definitely buy one for sure. Imagine your electricity and heating costs cut in half. I hope they are able to make these work in cars for obvious reasons. But it will probably be 2020 before I can even think about buying one of these things.

[NCLI]

It's looking great (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/live-from-the-bloom-box-press-event/).

[aviedw]

The new website is up
http://www.bloomenergy.com/

If your interested in the science that makes it work check this video out
http://www.bloomenergy.com/products/solid-oxide-fuel-cell-animation/


If this is a success, i wonder how companies like GE are going to respond?

[hobo14]

If I want my electricity bills to go down I'll buy solar panels.

[bruno9779]

It is a fuel cell, and fuel is running low worldwide.

The idea doesn't sound even half-smart

[MoebusNet]

I saw a video on the Bloom box on TV; apparently Google is one of the corporations using this technology. Sorry, I didn't see the beginning of the program to give the program source. I seem to remember that Google had four Bloom boxes on their main campus. Ebay is another customer with five Bloom boxes and has saved $100,000 in fuel costs so far.

Even if it is only 25% more efficient/cheaper than present technology, that has to be a good thing. As ever, affordability will be the key.

EDIT:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml appears to have the program info on what I saw.

[Ric_NYC]

very interesting.

[Ric_NYC]

It is a fuel cell, and fuel is running low worldwide.

The idea doesn't sound even half-smart


Hydrocarbons such as natural gas or biofuel (stored in an adjacent tank) are pumped into the Bloom Box – ceramic plates stacked atop each other to form modules that can be assembled into a unit of any size – and out comes abundant, reliable, cleaner electricity. The company says the unit does not vibrate, emits no sound, and has no smell.

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/19/is-k-r-sridhars-magic-box-ready-for-prime-time/

[hobo14]

Hydrocarbons such as natural gas or biofuel (stored in an adjacent tank) are pumped into the Bloom Box – ceramic plates stacked atop each other to form modules that can be assembled into a unit of any size – and out comes abundant, reliable, cleaner electricity. The company says the unit does not vibrate, emits no sound, and has no smell.

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/19/is-k-r-sridhars-magic-box-ready-for-prime-time/

There's nothing special about using biofuel. Any diesel engine is easily convertible to run on biofuel.

[DownTown22]

Wow..I fail to see what all the hype about this thing is.

Lots of the information on this "new" technology keep saying that you could pump natural gas into them....don't we want to be moving AWAY from hydrocarbons?

[bruno9779]

Wow..I fail to see what all the hype about this thing is.

Lots of the information on this "new" technology keep saying that you could pump natural gas into them....don't we want to be moving AWAY from hydrocarbons?

+ 1

That's what I meant 5 posts above.

BioDiesel, and biofuels in general are still hydrocarbons.
In a way even worse than petrol:

while we can litter the planet with gasoline only as long as there is petrol, there is going to be biodiesel pollution as long as there is sunlight.

[3rdalbum]

Firepower fuel-pill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firepower_International#.27Firepower_Pill.27)

Peter Brock Energy Polarizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Brock#Other_activities)

Bloom Box (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml)

Yep... fits nicely on the list.

[cammin]

Ebay is another customer with five Bloom boxes and has saved $100,000 in fuel costs so far.
$3.5 mil for the boxes / $150k a year fuel savings

[Sporkman]

+ 1

That's what I meant 5 posts above.

BioDiesel, and biofuels in general are still hydrocarbons.
In a way even worse than petrol:

while we can litter the planet with gasoline only as long as there is petrol, there is going to be biodiesel pollution as long as there is sunlight.

The carbon released by biofuels gets sucked back out of the atmosphere when the biofuel sources are regrown, whereas the carbon from petroleum gets released from deep underground internment & stays.

[3rdalbum]

Wow..I fail to see what all the hype about this thing is.

Lots of the information on this "new" technology keep saying that you could pump natural gas into them....don't we want to be moving AWAY from hydrocarbons?

The last government of Western Australia decided to try and make everything dependent on natural gas. Hey, we've got a lot of it, so we should put all our eggs into this big basket, right? We'll power all our buses with gas and most of our power stations. We'll provide incentives for people to get gas heaters, gas hot water systems, and gas clothes dryers.

West Australian gas explosion cuts state’s energy supplies and throws thousands out of work (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/wgas-j23.shtml)

And the WA Labor Party lost the next election. The power rationing and the job losses had an immediate political effect.

[aviedw]

we have to look at the Bloom Box and other inventions like it as only one of the possible solutions. Even if this one invention does not catch on, i do hope that it turn the worlds governments attention towards investing in this industry. Maybe this one time we can do something to stop the human effect on the environment before its gets too bad and were all walking around with gas mask and paying for clean oxygen lol

[hobo14]

The Bloombox emits CO2 at 0.8 lb/kWh, which is better than coal or gas burning power stations (and it is more efficient, too), but worlds away from green generation like wind, solar or hydro.

So yes, it's an improvement over the worst electricity producing techs, and it does decentralise electricity generation, which is a bonus, but it isn't an answer to our emissions.

Nice, but not exciting.