BLOOM ENERGY

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Bloom's Energy Server

3. Technology

4. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)

5. Working of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

6. Installation and Usage

7. The Benefits of Bloom Energy

a) Low cost materials

b) High electrical efficiency

c) Fuel flexibility

d) Usage of inexpensive metal alloys

e) Power generation on-site

f) Avoid Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) & Diesel Generation

g) Reduce Energy Costs

h) Clean Energy- Bloom Energy delivers Better Electrons

i) Pollution free

j) Land Savings andWater Savings

8. Conclusion – “Best Energy Saver Equipment”

 Introduction:

 Everything in our world today totally depends on the power to keep them running.
 At present we depend upon the power plants like coal fired hydro and bio gas which
generate electricity by contributing harmful gases into our atmosphere.
 Of course we have solar and wind energy, which are intermit and also not contributing
major part of environmental-free electricity.
 So we need a technology which has the capability to produce clean electricity sufficiently
without any interruption.
 Dr. Sridhar introduced “Bloom Energy” as "It's the plug-and-play future of
electricity". Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention- a little power plant-in-a-
box.
 Unlike renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, which are intermittent,
Bloom’s technology could provide renewable power 24x7.
 It converts air and nearly any fuel source, ranging from natural gas to a wide range of
biogases into electricity through electrochemical process.

Bloom's Energy Server:

 Fuel cells (Bloom Server) are devices that convert natural gas or renewable biogas into
electricity through a clean electro-chemical process rather than dirty combustion.
 They are like batteries except that they always run.
 According to the company's press release, each Bloom Box (Server) fits the size of a parking
space and each Bloom Energy Server provides 200kW of power, enough to meet the
baseload needs of 160 average homes or an office building day and night.

Technology:
 The Bloom Energy Server uses thin white ceramic plates (100 × 100 mm) that are made
from beach sand.
 Each plate is coated with a green nickel oxide-based ink on one side, forming the anode, and
another black (probably Lanthanum strontium manganite) ink on the cathode side.
 For more power, the cells are sandwiched, along with metal interconnect plates called "stack“.
 In an Energy Server, multiple stacks are aggregated together into a "power-module", and then
multiple power modules, along with a common fuel input and electrical output are assembled
as a complete system.
  Each Bloom Energy fuel cell is capable of producing about 25W enough to power a light bulb
and each Energy Server consists of thousands of Blooms fuel cells.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC):

 In Bloom’s technology Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are implemented.
 A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces
electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel.
 SOFCs operate at extremely high temperature (typically above 800°C).
 This high temperature gives them extremely high electrical efficiencies, and fuel
flexibility, both of which contribute to better economics.

Working of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell:

 In solid oxide fuel cell, the electrolyte is a solid ceramic material (sand).
 The anode and cathode are made from special inks that coat the electrolyte. Unlike other
types of fuel cells, no precious metals, corrosive acids, or molten materials are required.
 Next, an electrochemical reaction converts fuel and air into electricity without
combustion.
 A solid oxide fuel cell is a high temperature fuel cell.
 At high temperature, warm air enters the cathode side of the fuel cell and steam mixes
with fuel to produce reformed fuel which enters on the anode side.
 Next, the chemical reaction begins in the fuel cell. As the reformed fuel crosses the
anode, it attracts oxygen ions from the cathode.
 The oxygen ions combine with the reformed fuel to produce electricity, water, and small
amounts of carbon dioxide.
 The water gets recycled to produce the steam needed to reform the fuel and also generates
the heat required by the fuel cell.

 For methanol fuel cells below chemical reactions take place:

 Anode Reaction: CH3OH + H2O → CO2 + 6H+ + 6e-
 Cathode Reaction: 3/2 O2 + 6H+ + 6e- → 3H2O
 Overall Reaction: CH3OH + 3/2 O2 → CO2 + 2H2O + electrical energy
For methane as fuel:
 CH4+2O2 → CO2+2H2O+Electricity+Heat

Installation and Usage:

 Bloom's systems are easy and fast to install, practically anywhere.
 The current cost of each hand-made 100 kW Bloom Energy Server is $700,000 to $800,000
each.
 The company announced plans for a smaller, home sized Bloom server priced under $3,000
and the capital cost is $7–8 per watt.
 Bloom Energy has developed a simpler way to power data centers and mission critical
facilities.
 The first customer of the bloom box was Google. They use natural gas, but half as much as
would be required for a traditional power plant.
 In EBay, the five Bloom Boxes installed on the campus have saved the company more than
$100,000 in electricity costs.
 Bloom Energy stated that their customers include Staples (300 kW), Walmart, (800 kW),
FedEx (500 kW), The Coca-Cola Company (500 kW) and Bank of America (500 kW).

The Benefits of Bloom Energy:

a) Low cost materials:

 These cells use a common sand-like powder instead of precious metals like platinum or
corrosive materials like acids.

b) High electrical efficiency:

 We can convert fuel into electricity at nearly twice the rate of some legacy technologies.
 Bloom claims a conversion efficiency of around 50%. A modern combined cycle gas turbine
power plant (CCGT) can reach 60% overall efficiency, using a multi-step process.
 Sridhar stated that Bloom servers convert chemical energy to electrical energy in one step
process.
 He said the boxes have a 10 year life span, although that could include replacing the cells
during that period.
 c) Fuel flexibility:
 These systems are capable of using either renewable (methane, methanol) or fossil fuels.

d) Usage of inexpensive metal alloys:

 To save money, the Bloom Energy Server uses inexpensive metal alloy plates for electric
conductance between the two ceramic fast ion conductor plates in comparing with lower
temperature fuel cells, platinum is required at the cathode.

e) Power generation on-site:

 Bloom server generates power by Distributed Generation (DG) on-site & provides power
directly where it is needed, thus avoiding the transmission and distribution power losses.

f) Avoid Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) & Diesel Generation:

 Bloom Energy delivers a continuous source of UPS-quality power.
 A data center powered by Bloom Energy eliminates the need for traditional backup equipment
like diesel generators, UPS, batteries, and complex switchgear.

g) Reduce Energy Costs:

 The customers of Bloom energy today generate their own electricity for less than they pay
their power company.
 The savings typically provide a 3-5 year payback on their initial capital investment.

h) Clean Energy- Bloom Energy delivers Better Electrons:

 Practically, all electrons are not created equal.
 Only Bloom Energy delivers electrons that are clean and reliable at the same time.
 Bloom Energy generates better electrons to produce electricity efficiently making it as one of
the most sustainable solutions on the market today.

i) Pollution free:
 When compared to the most advanced gas turbine power plants, Bloom lower CO2 emission.
  When fueled with biogas, the Bloom Energy Server provides 100 percent carbon free power
generation.
 When powered by natural gas, it releases a fraction of the CO2 produced by coal-fired
power plants.
 Bloom Energy Servers virtually eliminate smog forming particulates and harmful sulphur
oxides (SOx) and nitrous oxides (NOx) emissions that are emitted by conventional power
plants.

j) Land Savings and Water Savings:

 Bloom servers are compact when compared to large centralized power plants, whether they are
gas fired, wind, solar or hydropower, require large land areas.
 Bloom Energy Servers also deliver extraordinary water savings. Bloom's technology uses no
water beyond a 240-gallon injection at start up.

Conclusion- “Best Energy Saver Equipment”

 Bloom server requires sand (ceramic) for its construction which is very cheap and abundantly
available in nature.
 The high efficiency built into Bloom's fuel cell systems with easy implementation, 24/7
availability and 24/7/365 usage.
 Customers can also reduce their CO2 emissions by 40%-100% and virtually eliminate all
SOx, NOx, and other harmful smog forming emissions.
 Over a century in the making, fuel cells are finally clean, reliable, and most
importantly affordable and compact.
 As the world transitions to a renewable energy future, the most sustainable pathway is to
consume our precious resources more efficiently by using this bloom energy.
 It's also smarter and “fuel savings mean saving money”.

  The largest disadvantage is the high operating temperature which results in

longer start-up times and mechanical and chemical compatibility issues.