Bloom Energy Server - Lower Cost Fuel Cells

"The Bloom Energy Server ... is certainly interesting for its packaging, deep-pocketed backers, big brand customer names/testimonials and potential to provide clean energy, but its major technological innovation appears to resolve a problem that have long made fuel cells uneconomical. ... runs on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) which convert natural or biogas into electricity."

" ... company ... reportedly attracted ... backing from Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins ... Energy Servers have been toiling away since the mid-2008 at ... Google and eBay. ..."

" ... its key component is made from sand. ... sand is cheap and plentiful ... Historically, the gating component in a hydrogen fuel cell, the most common type of fuel cell, has been platinum, which drives up the cost and makes them expensive to mass produce."

" ... been able to commercialize the technology and besides Google and eBay, get customer commitments from the likes of Staples, Walmart, Coke and Bank of America. ... proves that the Energy Server actually works. ..."

Via: SmartPlanet LINK

Home Fuel Cells Coming to Japan

" ... Matsushita ... will claim first place in the race to put commercial home fuel cells on the market ... "

" ... can optimally provide 70 percent of the energy needs for a 1,280 square foot house with four people ... can reduce energy consumption by 22 percent and CO2 emissions by 12 percent as compared to all other power sources ... ".

" ... in this case, the cogeneration home fuel cell hooks up to the city’s natural gas lines, extracting hydrogen from the gas in a fuel-processing device ... hydrogen is combined with oxygen through a series of polyelectrolyte membranes, a process that creates electricity, heat, and water ... home fuel cell produces between 500 watts and a 1 kilowatt of electricity and captures the heat to warm a tank of water, used for showers, dishes etc."

" ... a contribution to Japan’s goals of reducing global CO2 emissions 50 percent by 2050."

" ... fuel cells require a great deal of energy; for example, this unit contains more than 2,000 components. Whether the production of the units negates the energy and CO2 savings gained by customers is unclear."

Check out this video ...

Via: Mother Nature Network LINK