Bloom Energy, Inc. provides solid oxide fuel cell technology and products for distributed electricity and hydrogen generation. Bloom Energy, Inc. was founded as Ion America, Inc. and changed its name to Bloom Energy, Inc. in September 2006. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California.

Bloom Energy announced its plans to raise $150 million in sixth-round capital to establish a market for its product — which has yet to launch. Bloom Energy says it has booked most of this funding with Advanced Equities Investment. Bloom Energy’s planned Initial Public Offering or IPO has been valued at $1.45 billion.

Bloom Energy says it expects to bring in billions of dollars in revenue over the next couple of years by riding the green technology trend, cutting energy costs for users and reducing their carbon footprints. To do so, Bloom Energy will sell and lease its fuel cell systems.

Bloom Energy is also playing with the idea of purchasing power through a subsidiary (which has yet to be formed). First developed by NASA, Bloom Energy’s fuel cells are made out of cheap materials but are able to run at higher temperatures and have the capacity to store as well as make energy. These fuel cells operate by converting natural gas and some renewable feedstocks into hydrogen. Just one fuel cell can generate enough electricity for a home or small business.

Now going to back to the question in the title, what is Bloom Box? How does a bloom box look alike? The Bloom Box is kind of like an industrial-sized refrigerator, that sucks up oxygen on one side and fuel (natural gas, biomass, etc) on the other. Reports say that Bloom Energy bakes sand and cuts it into little squares that are turned into a ceramic, which are then coated with green and black “inks.” Using a special process Bloom Energy creates these ceramic discs and stacks them together interspersed with metal plates of “a cheap metal alloy.” The bigger the stack the more power the Bloom Box will create.

Below is a picture of a Bloom Box used by Bloom Energy:

A lot of stock investors are now speculating that Bloomberg Fuel Cell would be the next Google. Founded by a former NASA scientist, Bloom Energy is developing fuel cells for homes and businesses that produce clean, efficient electricity through chemical reactions. Its lead product is a cell that can convert natural gas and plant products into hydrogen fuel.

What do you think about Bloom Energy Cell? Can its main product fuel cell generate enough savings to serve the purpose of more economic friendly green technology?

Here are some of the news we gathered about Bloom Energy:

- Bloom Energy customers include eBay, Google, Lockheed, Wal-Mart, Staples and the CIA.

- There are rumors of an enormous Bloom Energy government contract and a multi-million dollar order backlog from Coca-Cola and FedEx.

- eBay ordered four of the Bloom Energy’s 100-kilowatt units.

- Adobe may have purchased some Bloom boxes.

- The San Francisco Airport has Bloom fuel cells in their possession.

- The Google fuel cell installation is 400 kilowatts. Bloom Energy’s first 100-kilowatt unit went to Google.

- Bloom Energy is focusing on a new business model by engaging customers in a power purchase agreement (PPA). With this approach, Bloom Energy might keep the fuel cell themselves (or own it in a joint venture with a utility) and sell the power. PPAs have been effective financing tools for solar, wind and some biomass/manure firms. PPAs also eliminate any fears about maintenance and upkeep.

- East Tennessee will be the location of a 100-kilowatt demonstration fuel cell developed by Bloom Energy that could be a precursor to the potential siting of a manufacturing facility in Tennessee. The system will be at the Electric Power Board HQ in Chattanooga. The project is funded through a federal appropriation as well as support from the Electric Power Board’s research and development organization. The system is a 25-kilowatt unit and they put four together for a 100-kilowatt system.

- Bloom Energy’s fule cell run on natural gas, propane, biofuels or diesel which gives them about 48 percent overall efficiency.

- Bloom Energy’s Board members and observers include John Doerr of KPCB, Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures, and T.J. Rodgers, the CEO of Cypress Semiconductor.

- Bloom Energy’s advisors include Colin Powell and Floyd Kvamme.

Bloom Energy’s idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines. Watch out for more updates on Bloom Energy’s stocks and other news. Do you think Bloom Energy’s green technology is the solution to the global warming bringing climate change to earth?

Update: Bloom Energy recently has a Bloom Energy Press Conference. Find out the highlights of the Press Conference by going here.

Also, Bloom Energy’s Bloom Box has been featured at 60 minutes. You can watch the 60 minutes video here.

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