Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy is a public company headquartered in San Jose, California. It manufactures and markets solid oxide fuel cells that produce electricity on-site. The company was founded in 2001 and came out of stealth mode in 2010. It raised more than $1 billion in venture capital funding before going public in 2018. Its fuel cells are subsidized by government incentive programs for green energy. As of 2018, Bloom had installed about 300 megawatts worth of fuel cells.

Bloom Energy
Public
Traded asNYSE: BE (Class A)
Russell 2000 Index component
Founded2001
FounderK. R. Sridhar (CEO), John Finn, Matthias Gottmann, James McElroy, Dien Nguyen
Headquarters
North San Jose Innovation District, San Jose, California
,
USA
Key people
K. R. Sridhar (founder, CEO)
ProductsSolid oxide fuel cells
Revenue$742 million (2018)[1]:37
−$259.49 million (2018)[1]:37
Total assets$1.389 billion[1]:37
OwnerKleiner Perkins (15.85%)
Kuwait Investment Authority (10.73%)
New Enterprise Associates(8.78%)
Alberta Investment Management Corp. (7.53%)
Advanced Equities Financial Corp. (6.55%)[2]
Number of employees
1,524[1]:10
Websitewww.bloomenergy.com

Corporate history

Bloom Energy was founded in 2001[3] under the name Ion America before being renamed Bloom Energy in 2006.[4] The company worked in secret for 8 years before coming out of stealth mode in 2010.[4] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, that year Bloom had "a coming-out party packed with politicians and Silicon Valley elite."[3][5] The company was featured in 60 minutes and supported by political figures.[6] At that time, Bloom had raised $400 million in funding and had 300 employees.

Bloom Energy traces its roots to work performed by K.R. Sridhar in connection with creating a technology to convert Martian atmospheric gases to oxygen for propulsion and life support. Sridhar and his team built an electrochemical cell for NASA capable of producing air and fuel from electricity generated by a solar panel.

In 2011, Bloom was valued at $2.9 billion.[7][8] Initially, the company produced about one fuel cell appliance per day[9] before opening a factory in Newark, Delaware in April 2012.[10] By 2013, it raised $1.1 billion in funding,[2] which was followed by additional funding rounds in 2014 and 2015.[2]

Bloom's revenues grew rapidly but it was unprofitable, in some years losing more than $200 million.[3][11] In 2011, Bloom started selling the electricity produced by its units, rather than the units themselves, fronting the costs of manufacturing the fuel cells.[12][13][11] A federal subsidy for fuel cells expired in 2016[8] and the California Self-Generation Incentive Program was discontinued the following year[8][14] as the state focused its subsidies on batteries.[5]

Federal subsidies were re-instated in 2018.[8] Bloom filed an initial public offering that July, stating that it did not expect to be profitable in the near-term and disclosing a legal settlement with some of its investors.[2][15][16] Later that year, Bloom moved headquarters to San Jose in 2018.[17]

In the first two years since its IPO, Bloom shares lost nearly 50% of their value; the company has not been profitable in its first 19 years of operation and had raised over $1.7 billion in capital.[18]

In July 2019, Duke Energy corporation announced the intention of acquiring a portfolio of distributed fuel cell technology projects from Bloom Energy.[19][20]

Products and services

Bloom Energy produces solid oxide fuel cell power generators called Bloom Energy Servers that use natural gas or biogas as fuel.[8][21] According to The New York Times, solid oxide fuel cells are "considered the most efficient but most technologically challenging fuel-cell technology."[22] Instead of precious metals, Bloom Energy's fuel cells use wafers made from sand that are stained with proprietary ink.[21][22] As fuel passes over the sand wafers, it mixes with oxygen, creating a chemical reaction that produces electricity.[22][23] The chemical reaction takes place at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.[4][23]

Bloom sells the power from the units for 5-15% less than buying power from the grid, rather than selling the units themselves.[3][24] The generators are normally used for large buildings, manufacturing facilities, or data centers to produce power on-site.[17][24]

The fuel cells are housed in metal cabinets.[11] Each one produces about 200 to 300 kilowatts of electricity.[3] As of 2018, Bloom had installed about 300 megawatts of units.[25] Data from the state of Delaware found that Bloom's fuel cells produce about 823 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour.[26] This is less than the ~1,000 pounds produced when power is taken from the electrical grid, but more than the 777 Bloom used to advertise without taking into consideration the declining efficiency of the appliances with age.[26] As of 2018 data, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports coal producing 2,210 pounds of CO2 per megawatthour, and natural gas at 920 pounds per megawatthour.[27]

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See also

References
  1. 2019 10-k (PDF), Bloom Energy
  2. John, Jeff St. (June 14, 2018). "Bloom Energy's S-1 by the Numbers". Greentech Media. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. Baker, David (July 25, 2018). "Bloom Energy, Silicon Valley fuel-cell unicorn, has a high-powered IPO". SFChronicle.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  4. Hull, Dana (February 24, 2010). "Bloom Energy unveils its 'Bloom Box' fuel cell". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  5. Fehrenbacher, Katie (October 6, 2016). "Silicon Valley fuel cell maker Bloom Energy has filed for an IPO". Fortune. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. Pressman, Aaron; Lashinsky, Adam (June 18, 2018). "Why the pride of green tech startups is going public". Fortune. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  7. John, Jeff St. (March 22, 2018). "What a rumored IPO would mean for Bloom Energy". Greentech Media. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. Chernova, Yuliya (March 19, 2018). "Bloom Energy's IPO plan is back on track". WSJ. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  9. Reddall, Braden (October 14, 2010). "Bloom Energy poised to produce one box a day". U.S. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  10. LaMonica, Martin (April 30, 2012). "Apple data center helps fuel Bloom Energy move to east coast". CNET. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  11. Sverdlik, Yevgeniy (February 21, 2019). "Can Bloom Energy transform the data center industry?". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  12. Eaton, Kit (January 21, 2011). "Now you can buy Bloom Energy's mystical fuel cell electricity without any gizmos". Fast Company. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  13. Kanellos, Michael (January 20, 2011). "Bloom Energy's fuel cells-as-a-service: do the economics work?". Greentech Media. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  14. Nguyen, Vicky; Wagner, Liz; Villarreal, Mark (March 31, 2016). "Incentive money for fuel cell makers may end". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  15. Farrell, Maureen (July 25, 2018). "Clean-tech company Bloom Energy soars 68% in trading debut". WSJ. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  16. Chernova, Yuliya (July 24, 2018). "On eve of IPO, Bloom Energy faces questions about settlement with investors". WSJ. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  17. Avalos, George (April 27, 2018). "Bloom Energy strikes deal to shift HQ to north San Jose". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  18. Helman, Christopher (February 13, 2020). "The Forbes Investigation: How Bloom Energy Blew Through Billions Promising Cheap, Green Tech That Falls Short". Forbes. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  19. "Duke Energy Arm to Acquire Bloom Energy's Fuel Cell Projects". ph.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  20. Zacks, Contributor Zacks Equity Research. "Duke Energy Arm to Acquire Bloom Energy's Fuel Cell Projects". www.nasdaq.com. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  21. Baker, David R. (February 25, 2010). "Bloom Energy unveils 'power plant in a box'". SFGate. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  22. Woody, Todd (February 24, 2010). "Bloom Energy claims a new fuel cell technology". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  23. Schwartz, Ariel (February 25, 2010). "How does the Bloom Box energy server work?". Fast Company. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  24. Chernova, Yuliya (January 20, 2015). "Bloom Energy continues capital buildup with $130 Million". WSJ. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  25. "Bloom Energy files for IPO, expects data center business to grow". Data Center Knowledge. June 13, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  26. Nguyen, Vicky; Wagner, Liz; Villarreal, Mark (October 20, 2014). "Is Bloom Energy greenwashing the public?". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  27. "Frequently Asked Questions". EIA. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
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