Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy is changing the way the world generates and consumes energy.

Our unique on-site power generation systems utilize an innovative new fuel cell energy technology with roots in NASA's Mars program.

Derived from a common sand-like powder, and leveraging breakthrough advances in materials science, our technology is able to produce clean, reliable, affordable energy,... practically anywhere,... from a wide range of renewable energy sources or traditional fuels.

Our Energy Servers^® are among the most efficient energy generators on the planet; providing for significantly reduced electricity costs and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

By generating power on-site, where it is consumed, Bloom Energy offers increased electrical reliability and improved energy security, providing a clear path to energy independence.

Founded in 2001, Bloom Energy is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Bloom Energy traces its roots to work performed by Dr. K.R. Sridhar, Bloom founder and Chief Executive Officer, in connection with creating a technology to convert Martian atmospheric gases to oxygen for propulsion and life support. Dr. Sridhar and his team built a fuel cell capable of producing air and fuel from electricity generated by a solar panel.

They soon realized that their technology could have an even greater impact here on Earth.

In 2001, when their project ended, the team decided to continue their research and start a company. Originally called Ion America, Bloom Energy, was founded with the mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone on earth.

In 2002, John Doerr, and Kleiner Perkins became the first investors in the company. Kleiner Perkins was legendary for its early backing of other industry changing companies, like Google, Amazon.com, Netscape, and Genentech, but Bloom was its first clean tech investment. In fact, at that time, clean tech was not even really a word.

With financing in place, the team packed three U-hauls and headed to NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley to set up shop. Over the next few years, the technology quickly developed from concept, to prototype, to product, as the major technological challenges were solved and the systems became more powerful, more efficient, more reliable, and more economical.

In early 2006 Bloom shipped its first 5kW field trial unit to the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. After two years of successful field trials in Tennessee, California, and Alaska, to validate the technology, the first commercial (100kW) products were shipped to Google in July 2008.

Since that time Bloom's Energy Servers^® have helped our customers generate millions of kWhs of electricity and eliminate millions of pounds of CO₂ from the environment.

From humble beginnings on Mars, Bloom Energy is now changing the Earth for the better.

Clean Energy: Bloom Energy delivers Better Electrons

Bloom Energy generates clean, reliable power onsite with minimal environmental impact, making the Bloom Energy Server^® one of the most sustainable clean energy solutions on the market today. Compared to alternative sources, Bloom delivers enhanced sustainability benefits in many ways: high efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, avoided air pollutants, small physical footprint, and reduced water use.

Higher Energy Efficiency

Bloom Energy Servers convert natural gas or renewable biogas into clean electricity using a direct electrochemical reaction without combustion. This highly efficient process is not bound by the same thermodynamic constraints¹ for creating electricity and thus enables exceptionally high conversion efficiency. Today, Bloom ships clean power systems with an industry-leading 60+ percent electrical efficiency, based on the lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel — a figure that has increased markedly since our first commercial shipments in 2008. Looking forward, we see a clear pathway to deliver even higher energy efficiency.

By contrast, the average coal-fired power plant — with over a century of R&D behind it — converts only 33 percent of its energy input into electricity.² Yet because no one wants a coal plant in their 'backyard', this electricity is generated a great distance away from the end user and must be transported via hundreds of miles of power lines, causing a portion of this power generated to become lost — anywhere from 7 - 10 percent in the developed world, and up to 50 percent³ in developing economies. Since Bloom Energy Servers typically generate power at the customer's site, clean energy is generated and provided directly where it is needed, thus avoiding these losses altogether.

As the world transitions to a renewable, clean energy future, the most sustainable pathway is to consume our precious resources more efficiently. Not only is it more sustainable, but it's also smarter — fuel savings mean money savings.

Low CO₂ Emissions

Bloom clean Energy Servers convert fuel into delivered electricity at the highest level of efficiency amongst commercially available technologies. Greater energy efficiency means less fuel consumed to produce the same output of electricity, and that lower fuel consumption corresponds to fewer CO₂ emissions. Even when compared to advanced centralized combined cycle gas turbine power plants equipped with the best available control technology (BACT) — the US EPA's benchmark — Bloom delivers a lower CO₂ footprint due to higher electricity efficiency.

The flexibility of the Bloom clean Energy Server allows customers to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint while continuing to power their operations reliably. When fueled with biogas, the Bloom clean Energy Server provides 100 percent carbon neutral power generation. When fueled with natural gas, it releases a fraction of the CO₂ produced by coal-fired plants or modern combined cycle natural gas plants even before taking into account transmission losses. As businesses prepare for a carbon-constrained future, the Bloom Energy Server offers a clean, reliable, and affordable solution to meet a customer's sustainability needs.