Who needs the grid?

“I want to open up access to energy the way that PCs and the Web opened up access to information,” – K. R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom

Such a statement wouldn’t have been understood fifty years ago, and until recently would have been answered with sarcastic agreements and laughs. However, K. R. Sridhar has found a way to make it happen—the solution? Bloom Boxes.

I first heard about Bloom Boxes this past winter during an episode of 60 Minutes. These Bloom Boxes are introduced as the invention, which will eliminate the power grid. This might sound like an idea out of the twenty-fourth century, when in reality it is an idea which spurred in the late-1800’s. Fuel cells have been in existence for decades, but there has always been a catch. Fuel cells typically are powered by hydrogen gas, are highly expensive, and unreliable. These new fuel cells on the other hand use oxygen and are said to be “fuel agnostic” meaning that they can run on natural gas, propane, ethanol, and a number of different bio fuels. A strong point for the argument of instituting Bloom Boxes is the green factor. An ongoing test at the University of Tennessee has shown that Bloom Boxes are twice as efficient as a traditional, gas-burning system while producing 60% less emissions. Despite the incredible efficiency of these fuel cells, there is something else about them that has critics raving… their ability to eliminate the power grid. Bloom Boxes have the potential to bring electricity to parts of the world without the costly task of laying power lines.

I think this is an amazing invention. This sort of device has the potential to change the world in a few short years. Due to the low cost of Bloom Boxes, people would quickly disconnect their homes from the gird and implement the new system. At first, most of the fuel cells would be powering homes and businesses, but shortly thereafter, units would be developed to power cars, cell phones, computers, and anything else that consumes electricity. Although Bloom Boxes seem to be the answer for our energy crisis, people still have some doubts. There is skepticism that today’s appliances won’t be compatible with the fuel cells due to their superiority in power compared to current systems. This could cause major declines in sales due to the incurred expense of purchasing the unit even though the additional costs would be saved within a few short years.

There are already several companies that have implemented Bloom Boxes to provide a portion of their electricity. There are already about 25 companies using the new technology in California’s silicon valley (Google, FedEx, and Wal-Mart to name a few). Sources state that the corporate units will cost between $700,000 and $800,000 with a three-five year payback period with home units costing around $3000. Below is an image of a unit adequate for an American household.