Bloom Energy Servers

Last Week One of My Friend was talking to me about some  "Bloom Energy Servers". He told me to have a look at that article  when i had some free time. Well I had a look at the article and it was something really interesting. So I jus wanted to share some info on this topic with you

Bloom Energy, a startup company in Silicon Valley, claims to have made a breakthrough in the decades-old pursuit to develop fuel cells which can provide electricity that is affordable and relatively clean. The novel fuel cell, called Bloom Box (official name – Bloom Box server), is being tested by Bank of America, Google,   Wal-Mart and such other big corporations, according to Bloom Energy. A pictoral diagram of how it works is shown below.

K R Sridhar, an Indian-American rocket scientist and co-founder and chief executive of Bloom Energy, said the device that his company has produced is generating electricity, using natural gas, at a cost of 8 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt hour. That price is lower than the prices of commercial electricity in certain parts of the United States.K R Sridhar, a former scientist with NASA, said that Bloom Energy had raised around $400 million from investors and spent about a decade developing the new type of solid oxide fuel cell, which is considered as not only the most efficient but also the most technologically challenging fuel-cell technology.

However, an executive with UTC Power, a leading fuel-cell maker and a division of the United Technologies Corporation, said UTC Power has been working with solid oxide for about 30 years now, but the work is still in the laboratory. He added that none has so far been able to resolve the problem of “reliability.”

In a statement, Bloom Energy said that it has learned to make the solid oxide fuel cell devices from common materials, which will last for many years.

How the Bloom Box or Bloom Energy Server works

Fuel cells convert hydrogen, natural gas or some other fuel into electricity through an electro-chemical process. Many researchers think that these cells give cheap and abundant energy even while emitting lesser pollutants than conventional electricity-generating plants. At the same time, the need to use costly metals like platinum and rare-earth elements in certain fuel cells, and corrosive substances in certain other cells, have kept the costs of making fuel cells high and their lifespan short.

At the core of Bloom Energy’s fuel cell is a thin, white ceramic wafer that is made from sand. These cells look like floppy disks. One side of each cell is painted with a lime-green ink that acts as the anode, and a black ink on the back acts as the cathode. But, executives of Bloom Energy did not reveal the composition of the ink.

A larger device is made by stacking small cells. Electricity is generated through chemical reaction when a natural gas or some other fuel passes over the cell and mixes with oxygen from the air. Natural gas, biomass gas, landfill gas, and ethanol are some of the fuels that can be used for power generation using the Bloom Energy server.

According to Bloom Energy, even running on a fossil fuel, the Bloom Energy Server systems are approximately 67% cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant. When powered by a renewable fuel, the Bloom Box can be 100% cleaner.

As you can see from the photos here, the Boom Energy server looks like a huge refrigerator – the miniature version will look, what, like a washing machine?

So does the Bloom Box / Bloom Energy Server work as promised?

No reason to doubt that it does not. After all, eBay, Google, FedEx and Wal-Mart have been beta testing them since the summer of 2009. The ones they have cost $ 700,000  $ 800,000; but Bloom Energy hopes that in five years time, a Bloom Box necessary to run a house will cost only $ 3,000. Even if it does not go down as low as that, it is hoped that the prices would come down to make them attractive to the average household.

The huge-ass Bloom Energy servers can save the companies $ 100,000 per year. Walmart’s units power 60% to 80% of the energy needs in the buildings where they are installed. Google uses its unit to power an R&D center.

If the same cost-value ratio holds when it is miniaturised for home and small-establishment use, it would be possible to recover the initial investment into a smallish Bloom Box ($ 3,000) in 5-6 years time. It is a big IF.

If Bloom Energy manages to fulfill its promise, this might be a practical mode of alternative energy generation than any other technology attempted so far.  Wind energy and solar energy tech pale before it – provided the Bloom Energy Server tech works as advertised.

Questions about the Bloom Energy Server

The lifespan of the Energy Server – unclear, so far. Ease of swapping the fuel cells. Time it would take to miniaturise. The speed with which Bloom Energy can scale up production and smoothen implementation.

Bloom Energy IPO likely?

Not likely. Sure everyone wants to invest in the next Google, or AT&T – and the hype so far points to investors that this just might be a pathbreaking technology. The list of VCs already invested in Bloom Energy, plus the bigshot companies beta-testing the products are confidence-inspiring for sure. However, word is that at least officially, the company will wait for a long time and possibly time their IPO with the small, home version of the Bloom Box.

Hope You Guys Found this interesting piece of information worth reading. Will post more info regarding this... Till then it's me Ben Signing off for the day....Bye.....Tc.......

Finally CSK Pull Off a Win!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Finally CSK Pulled off a win to set themselves and the fans calm for now. This was that elusive win CSK we’re looking out for in their previous encounter’s where they had lost marginally. It was indeed, a sweet revenge for CSK as they got back at RCB for the loss in Bangalore last week. Well to start with, it was an easy win for CSK as they had to work hard to get this win under their belt and broke the losing jinx of four games on the trot.  After CSK’s poor showing over the past week many people had written them off and some of my friends shifted their loyalties to MI, RCB, DC etc…  I was puzzled then on what to do and boy oh boy this win came at a right time for all. Now I’m happy that I did not do the foolish thing my friends did and hope that they too would return to support CSK before it’s too late for them. And in one of the news articles on the net, I read that because CSK had not been performing well, theatres in Chennai have stopped screening and many kollywood industry people said that it was a blessing in disguise for them coz now people would leave IPL to watch movies now. Yesterday’s result gave the public some hope of a revival of CSK in the tournament and would give those cinema people twice to think now before releasing their movies. To sum it up CSK is back to winning ways. Another Interesting thing I wanted to share with u guys is that Shane Warne tweeted on his profile before the matches to commence yesterday saying that “RCB had to beat CSK & They had to beat DD to get them a gap in the points table” coz everyone are jus separated by a margin of 2 points. Well after the matches ended, this was what he tweeted. “Sorry to Fleming and MS”. This was because what he had predicted for the day had all turned wrong in a big way. We thumped RCB and Delhi gave a solid pasting for Rajasthan. But let’s get to our match now.

Yesterday afternoon was a hot and humid afternoon and Kumble had won the toss and rightly made first use of the pitch which was a dry deck and had some spin in it. So Out walked the two royal opener’s pandey and Kallis who needed 8 runs to get back his orange cap from Sachin tendulkar. Our Bowling for the first time in many matches started well till the third over where we got pandey out by thushara’s surprise bouncer which was pouched by dhoni comfortably. Out walked robin uthappa and like the previous game in Bangalore he got a reprieve from gony who has completely lost all skills to play cricket. Wonder why dhoni picked him to play ahead the rest of the reserve bowlers.  Not that he put down robin uthappa to a simple catch, he obliged by givin 11 runs in his first over which gave RCB the momentum to step it up. In his next over he was smashed for 16 and he was taken off. By the time RCB had managed to put up 80 in 10. Left arm spinner Jakati was introduced and got uthappa holdin out to deep midwicket. Kohli walked in to everyone’s surprise while Peterson and white were in the sheds still to come and he too got going quickly. Murali was also containing at the other end even though not taking wickets. Gony came in for another over and went for 11 and finishing with figures of 38 in 3. I was really puzzled on his selection for this match. The turning point for CSK was the 17^th over of the match where jakati with a full toss got kohli to chip it to vijay at long on and the next ball got kallis run out and Peterson and white were new to the crease and jakati managed a double wicket maiden which none of the top bowlers had done & then as usual in the end over’s white and Peterson did what they worth for and got the score moving  and eventually ended up with 161 for 4. It was a Tricky score on a pitch which was offering some assistance for the spinners. Murali & Jakati combined together gave away 38 in 8 over’s and getting 2 wickets. Perhaps this was the best bowling spell for CSK in a Long time. RCB had the bowlers to defend 161 and given CSK’s poor record of chasing games (Except Chasing 185 against DD). It was a tricky chase awaiting CSK.

The Chennai Afternoon Heat had subsided by the time CSK had started their chase and the evening sea breeze from the nearby marina were making the players feel a little relief from the heat. So Hayden and Vijay set to chase and started decently in the opening 2 over’s which went for 16. It was the 3^rd over of the game when Praveen kumar was bowling to vijay and praveen’s  first ball in the over was a short one which vijay hooked and got the edge which went for a six. Next ball he angled into vijays pads and he flicked it between square leg and fine leg for four. The next ball was bowled short to him and he pulled it with ease over the midwicket for 6 and then next ball got a couple of runs and the last ball was plummeted for 4 at wide long-on and that over yielded 22 and at the end of that over the score read 38 for 0, Vijay 37(14) & Hayden 1(4). This was one of the rare sights you get to see another batsmen dominating hayden and it would have been something new for hayden to be watching this from the other end. The best thing about that over was vijay did not play rash shots to get those runs. He did not change his batting style and it was his pure sense of timing and shot selection which was glorious to watch. Kumble had to bring himself on and got hayden stumped of a googly. But vijay continued the good work and raina was the perfect foil for him. Kevin person was introduced and he was greeted for a 6 by vijay over long on. Vijay had reached his 50 of 29 balls and was still going hard for runs. Peterson came in for his second over where vijay smashed him for 2 more 6’s over midwicket and mid-on. While he attempted for the third one, he miscued it and manish pandey took it at long on. By that time vijay had amassed 78 of 39 and had made CSK at an hindsight of a victory at nearly a run a ball needed. Captain Cool Dhoni walked out and some quite overs from the RCB Bowlers keep the pressure on CSK and when dhoni got out trying to pull steyn we needed 44 from 30. Morkel came in and was foxed by his own countryman kallis to a perfect off-cutter which rattled his stumps. Badrinath walked in and he had no time to settle coz the run rate was climbing up every ball he missed. It all came to the 19^th over were 16 were needed of 12 and badri flicked one past fine leg for four of vinay kumar and the next ball he tried an ambitious pull and holed out to square leg. By then many in the stadium were brought back to the memories of the pun jab game where we had choked chasing a modest total of 136. Out walked ganapathy to the non-strikers end since they had crossed and raina was on strike. 10 were needed from 7 and vinay bowled a half volley on off stump and all raina did was move outside leg and opened the face of the bat to smash it over cover for 6 and what’s worse was it was a front foot no ball and the free hit was on. The next ball was a full toss which was hammered over cover again and the game was over but the umpires din think so and made vinay bowl another ball which was again hammered by raina for another boundary and finally CSK Won it (Little Unusual in the End) with an over to spare. But the damage had been don earlier b a so called “M.Vijay” who smashed 78 and swung the match towards CSK.

On the whole it was a good performance from CSK apart from Gony’s bowling and fielding. And as kumble admitted that they were stuck in the middle by the 2 spinners and that did not enable them to get up to 180 and a second spinner was missing for them. RCB have 2 losses in a row now and they are marginally above us with 2 points. With this win we move up to 5^th position which will be a better going into our next game. So hopefully for the next game we will have hussy and Bollinger available since the series in New Zealand was over yesterday. So Now CSK will have some bowling fire and some batting firepower as well. Rewardingly Vijay was awarded the man of the match and his wife and son were watching the game in the stadium yesterday and that was the reason vijay blasted those runs. One more piece of good news for us is that we play 2 to 3 home games on the trot which is better as there will be no travelling and home advantage is a definite plus. Our next game is against Rajasthan royals who got a pasting from delhi yesterday night.  We play them on Saturday in the afternoon again and since rajasthan had got a pasting from delhi yesterday night. They will look to set things right on Saturday, but Chennai need to win this which will shoot up them to no 3 or 4 with 8 points. So looking forward to a cracker of a game on Saturday afternoon. So till then this is Ben signing of for the day……..Bye….Tc………