A new way of producing energy?

After having worked for NASA, an engineer has launched a fuel cell which could change our way of producing and consuming electricity.

 

Simple metal boxes that could be confused with air-conditioning units in cascade... which are, in fact, energy servers based on a technology studied for manned flights to Mars! Credit: Bloom Energy

On paper, the fuel cell has everything to make it the ideal solution when it comes to clean energy. With hydrogen, this technology based on inversed electrolysis provides electricity as well as heat by releasing... water! Discovered in the 19th century, the fuel cell has undergone great technological development with the rapid growth of the space industry and today certain car manufacturers are even using it for manufacturing prototypes of zero-emission cars (see this Enjoy Space article).

Perfected via the space industry
But the hydrogen-based fuel cell requires costly materials (platinum for example) which put a damper on its economic interest. There is, however, another type of fuel cell known as the solid oxide fuel cell, capable of operating with less rare materials and fuels such as natural gas which are more common and easier to store than hydrogen. However, the other side of the coin is that this solution requires high temperatures in the cell (above 700°C) without which the necessary reactions do not take place. This poses serious technological challenges and has a direct effect on the price of the thus made electricity generator. Hence, the impression of going round and round in circles...

NASA’s drawing of a Martian base. The provision of energy for inhabitants on the red planet would probably come via fuel cells in addition to solar array. Credit: NASA

But it would seem that the circle has been squared by KR Sridhar, a doctor in physics, originally of Indian nationality, who worked for NASA on manned Mars mission projects. The objective: to develop fuel cells capable of providing electricity for future explorers of the red planet. At the end of this project, he founded the company ION America which is now Bloom Energy; and it comes as no surprise that the company specialises in fuel cells! KR Sridhar and his teams have perfected the solid oxide fuel cell, not only by resorting to silicon plates (sand and therefore reasonably priced), but also by reducing the operating temperature. The concept has been developed to the point of providing an energy server...

Credit: Bloom Energy

Decentralising electricity production?
Weighing in at 10 tonnes, this energy server takes the form of a 5 m long unit that is 2 m wide and just as high. It is powered by natural gas and gives out 100 kW of electricity, reducing the carbon footprint (CO² emitted) by 34% in relation to the American power grid. Bloom Energy states that, by using bio-fuels, the carbon footprint of its fuel cell can become almost neutral. And yet, this is not perhaps the most important latent revolution that could result from this new concept. In fact, KR Sridhar’s young company describes a way of looking at energy that turns its back completely on the way things are currently done. And so, instead of producing great quantities of electricity in enormous power plants and having to distribute it via impressive high-voltage networks, Bloom Energy suggests multiplying energy servers based on its technology and working on the principle of proximity.

KR Sridhar with his revolutionary plates. After having worked for NASA, he founded Bloom Energy. Crédit : Bloom Energy

To date, one 10 tonne server could provide electricity for a hundred or so private houses, and numerous companies such as Google, FedEx and eBay use this solution so as not to be totally dependent on the power grid. And lastly, as Bloom Energy states that its servers can also produce hydrogen for clean cars running on fuel cells using this “fuel”, it is possible to anticipate a whole new way of producing the energy that is consumed on a daily basis!

Published on 26 February 2010