George S. May Business Blog

The Bloom Box Bluster

The energy crisis is not over. America is still in a huge hole of outdated infrastructure, soaring fuel costs and consumption, while at the same time the supply is eternally experiencing constant and turbulent fluctuation. This means that American government will be unable to throw money at the situation until it goes away, which is unfortunately Plan A for both political parties in this situation.

Politicians say the green revolution is coming, businesses are saying it’s already here, but aside from a few automobile offerings, and other novel gadgets, what meaningful green technology has emerged to quell our fears over the rapidly disappearing petroleum reserves? What new innovation has put the world on a course back to equilibrium with our environment?

If you ask the PR team behind the mythic Bloom Box, that invention has already arrived in the form of the product they are selling. The Bloom Box alleges to be an instant power generator which uses fuels cells made of water, oxygen, and other renewable resources to produce both electricity and heat. What’s more, the box claims to be able to achieve this incredible feat without combustion of any kind, meaning no emissions or pollution will come as a by-product of using this device.

But the benefits don’t stop there. This device is supposed to be completely wireless and can not only deliver these vital utilities, but they can do it without being plugged into a grid or power plant infrastructure. Hypothetically speaking, if this device can deliver this, it would eliminate the need to run power lines and rely on power plants for all utility needs. This reaction also is thought to create hydrogen in the process, which could mean that the roadblock hydrogen fuel cells have encountered might also soon be hurdled with this device and it’s innumerable benefits (and zero specifications).

The media has indeed perked up its’ ears at the mouth-watering sounds of a huge story, and now the internet is a-buzz with the hype that is accompanying the formal introduction to the device on a 60 Minutes show airing this Wednesday. If you visit Bloom Energy’s website, http://www.bloomenergy.com/ you might find that there’s no actual information other than the dramatic countdown to this TV show, which hopefully will show the device to be every bit as effective and revolutionary as it’s been touted to be.

The details will be quite hard-pressed to look as good in reality as they do in the wild imaginations of the media which is giving this invention acclaim not seen since the introduction of hybrid and flex-fuel automobiles. What paltry details are known still leave a great many questions to be answered.

What is known is that this device has been being tested under stealth conditions, and as many as two dozen large corporations have already seen firsthand what the Bloom Box is capable of. Companies such as Wal-Mart and eBay among others claim that the device has already saved well over $100,000 in heating and electrical costs.

However, the box is expected to cost up to $800,000 for industrial sized applications, and all of the pertinent specifications of course are still under wraps, as are the exact inputs as to what will be needed in order to power these boxes. Instead of answers, we’re being told that Colin Powell and Arnold Schwarzenegger will be present for the unveiling in San Jose, California.

Many people call this device just another over-hyped natural gas fuel cell power generator, which are already commonplace as backup generators. Others are saying there’s no way that this device can feasibly and regularly generate enough power to be able to immediately render utility giants like Commonwealth Edison obsolete overnight.

Whether this device is the holy grail of energy or simply another extremely well-marketed niche product, it would appear that all of the stars are aligned (quite literally in Schwarzenegger’s case) for this device to make a huge impact, if only in the media for a few short days. We must always be cautious whenever anyone claims to have a “cure-all” to a problem as magnanimous as the global energy crisis.

Still, it’s hard not to get a excited at the prospect of a new tomorrow, so until Wednesday, it’s back to business as usual.

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