The company is celebrating its SOFC platform’s impressive feat.
US-based Bloom Energy has revealed that its Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) platform can produced electricity with an impressive 60% efficiency while using 100% hydrogen. This major milestone was achieved at the company’s research and development facility in Fermont, California.
The innovative and highly electrical efficient platform is extremely adaptable.
According to Bloom Energy, its technology, known as the Bloom Energy Server, can run on hydrogen, natural gas, or a combination of the two fuels. This capability makes the fuel cells exceptionally adaptable.
Additionally, compared to traditional turbines and engines, this SOFC platform generates only minor air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides.
Bloom Energy CTO Ravi Prasher said in a recent news release that with their “world-leading efficiency electrolyzer” and fuel cell technology that is capable of running on hydrogen and natural gas blends, what the company has accomplished builds on its leadership position in the hydrogen industry.
Bloom’s fuel cell tech is also efficient in producing heat.
Beyond it’s 60% electrical efficiency while using 100% hydrogen, the SOFC tech is extremely efficient in producing heat. The fuel cell technology is equipped with Combined Heat and Power (CHP), a feature that gives customers 90% high temperature combined heat and power efficiency.
This is beneficial because it allows businesses to use the waste heat to power industrial processes as well as heating and cooling systems for buildings. It’s just one more feature that makes the Bloom Energy Server a standout platform compared to standard fuel cell technologies on the market, which only offer low-temperature heat.
Greater efficiency and lower emissions.
SOFCs do not depend on combustion, instead relying on electrochemical processes to produce power. The result is greater efficiency and lower emissions. This makes SOFCs an ideal solution for industries that use a massive amount of power, such as manufacturing and data centers. Giving these industries the advantage of producing power on-site could help to reduce their dependency on the grid, decreasing grid congestion and carbon emissions.
Why the breakthrough is significant.
Bloom Energy’s fuel cell efficiency achievement is a vital step toward making a full hydrogen economy a viable reality. Blending natural gas and hydrogen provides flexibility and an immediate emissions reduction. This technology could help deliver localized electricity generation for communities and boost grid resiliency. Furthermore, it aids in making hydrogen a practical and affordable energy source and opens the door for an H2 economy that is clean and economically feasible.
