Neat article for fuel cells in something other the cars. Secretive startup unveils fuel cell ?server? - Green Machines- msnbc.com
so do i understand this right? these guys want to power servers that use electricity from fuelcells that uses the same electricity to make the hydrogen driving the fuelcells and then make electricity again to power the servers??????????? a HOAX
Another thread ongoing about bloom energy: http://priuschat.com/forums/freds-house-pancakes/76730-bloom-energy-hype-hope.html
This fuel cell solves a lot of a lot of energy problems. It is on site so the is no need for transmission lines. Theres no loss of energy over transmission lines ,so its inherently conserving. Theres less need for an expensive energy grid. It can run on multiple fuels. Natural gas is plentiful and 1/2 the carbon of other fossil fuel. It can run on methane so there is potential to convert recycled garbage or cow farts to electricity.
Sounds like a SOFC. Those have been around ages and are great for stationary power generation. Because their operating temps are really high (800C+) they can feast on a variety of hydrogen rich fuels.
Here are a few more articles that have recently hit the web after the press conference today. Bloom Energy Comes Out of the Shadows, Launches the Bloom Box Fuel Cell : TreeHugger Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video! -- Engadget Giz Explains: Fuel Cells and Bloom Energy's Miracle Box - bloom energy - Gizmodo
Sadly no. I'm still baffled that people would turn perfectly good natural gas or electricity into hydrogen, then back into electricity again, when it's wastes a HUGE hunk of the original energy.
The Bloom box appears to be somewhere between 60-80% efficient at generating electricity from natural gas according to some back-of-the-envelope calculations I've seen - same or better than large scale gas turbines with waste heat recovery systems. So yeah - if those numbers are are anywhere near the right ballpark and they can get the price down, they do have something pretty cool and useful.
Capture the waste heat for hot water or space heat and maybe you would REALLY have something. At a start it is way better than coal for electricity!
Because the Bloom box needs to run at a high temperature (1000*C) and is supposedly pretty efficient, I don't think there is much waste heat left over. The pics I saw of the box didn't appear to have any significant cooling mechanisms, but then again, the gas/electricity was routed out of sight, too.
At least their web site at Bloom Energy | Be The Solution has a lot more info now. On Sunday when the 60 Minutes piece aired, there was virtually zilch there (intentionally). If you'd rather read than watch the videos, go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml.
