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Live from the Bloom Box press event

We're here live at the Bloom Box press event, waiting for our power to be revolutionized.



10:08AM And that's a wrap!


10:08AM "We're on a Tour de France, this is what we've been through... as your chief enabling officer, I just want to thank each and every one of you [team members]. This day is yours, but don't forget, we've got a long way to go."


10:07AM "As long as we don't violate Physics, we'll figure it out." And if they do, there'll be heck to pay. Heck, we tells ya! People dividing by zero, pure madness.



10:06AM A tour is forthcoming, as is a press interview (sorry, those announcements aren't exactly exciting to you, dear reader). "Along the way, every single day was joyous. The journey was joyous. We were learning, doing things together, and the reason it was so much fun, is the people around us. Our employees, the team members, our investors."



10:05AM Powell's off the stage with a thank you. KR's back with some quick announcements.


10:04AM Everyone we heard today were businesses. The future is beyond that. Third-world African nations with the boxes, lights and electricity. "My wife is mad because we have all this snow and I refuse to put a generator up. I tell her, it's okay we're gonna put a Bloom Box in there soon." Hey, it's Bloom SERVER -- but who are we to argue with a general who could probably kill us with a stern gaze alone.


10:03AM "Occasionally I call KR with a lecture -- I'm still a general." Laughs. He'd tell people, "I'm working with a company, I can't tell you it's a secret" ... "Why's it a secret?" ... "I don't know." More laughs.



10:01AM "You look at energy demands this places on all our system. And then you look at the third piece... Global Warming, whether you are for it or against, I know that I don't want that dirty stuff in the air."


10:00AM Watching China opening up new coal plants, but also develops nuclear power, and is one of the leaders in wind and solar. "Because they need so much power for the growth they have planned."


9:59AM "We face a number of crises in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea. We have an economic problem... when I look at the broader world I saw different forces at work. Different than what you see on TV." A world growing out of the Iron Curtain and Bamboo Curtain. India, China, post-Soviet Nations, Latin America -- new growths that want wealth. "I look a China that in 38 years that has gone from nowhere to the second largest economy, the largest exporter, and hundreds of millions have moved up from poverty to middle class -- not just in China but worldwide." More talk of democracy, and middle class wanting cars, television sets. "Things that consumer energy."



9:57AM "Everything great starts in a garage, right Larry?" he jokes, gesturing to Larry Page.


9:57AM "We started the internet. The GPS in your car, we did it." When he left civil service -- military and political -- he was looking for new ventures and was approached by John Doerr to join up with Bloom. "I like to sit in the front windshield, where you can see what's up ahead." Great mental image.


9:55AM KR's back on stage, introducing "the final keynote speaker." A gentleman who joined the board in 2009. Probably the most recognizable face on the planet. Here comes Colin Powell!


9:51AM Bloomberg: "Make no mistake, when we look at Bloom, we are looking at the future of business, economy, and America."



9:51AM Merits extolled, care of Dianne Feinstein and Michael Bloomberg.


9:50AM Video time!



9:46AM A reminder: Bloom Energy Servers -- not Bloom Boxes. That should assuage any potential confusion to Steven Spielberg's Nintendo Wii title. Admit it, you've been making that mistake.


9:45AM He would love to see a whole data center running at some point when they're ready.


9:44AM Google's Larry Page, Bloom's first customer. "I didn't have to know about it, call the mayor or do lots of complicated things -- which we do have to for a lot of renewable energies. We were first customers, so we had to be secret. Those boxes sat there and people were none the wiser." Not only is it green, but it also has the possibilities to really functions as a battery or other kinds of things and that's a big deal. "Production of energy closer to where it's used has a lot of benefit, environmental and business."


9:42AM Four units installed at KTVU in California, been online for over a month and powers 70 percent of station.


9:41AM Chairman James Kennedy, Cox Enterprises. "We were able to eliminate 10 percent [energy loss] through conservation." Because of incentives, there's solar in Jersey, Georgia, etc.


9:40AM Brian Kelly, President and General Manager, Still Beverages and Supply Chain Business Unit of North America Coca-Cola "While we have 11 years of business growth, we [want to] have same carbon footprint."


9:36AM Executive VP of Walmart Bill Simon. Also experimenting with wind, landfill diversions, initiatives in packaging reduction. "We believe that, as it's been said earlier, that you can be profitable and green."


9:34AM eBay's Donahoe. "It was almost too good to be true." They sent the CFO into pencil things out. Signed up, made the investment, and installed last July. It now powers 15 percent of the campus.



9:31AM Coming on stage: John Donaho of eBay, Bill Simon of Walmart, FedEx, Cox, Brian Kelly of Coca-Cola, and Google's Larry Page. There are quite a number of heavy hitters on stage.



9:30AM John Dorr is introduced, one of his initial investors (also from the 60 minutes segment). A cross between Martha Stewart and Steve Jobs, he jokes.


9:29AM "It's been a great ride since [we began]." Phenomenal partners and investors.


9:28AM A panel of the customers is next up. "The proof is in the pudding," as KR notes.



9:27AM "It's with great gratitude that I want to say thank you to all of you." Cue the applause.




9:26AM He's driving home the economic gain, and for good reason. Additionally, carbon offset is equivalent to planting a million new trees. Customers! FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Google, Coca Cola, Bank of America, Cox, and of course, eBay.



9:25AM Cleaner than the grid, 100 percent renewable, always available. "If one unit has to be serviced, the customer will not be out of power."



9:24AM Three to five year payback, fixed for 10 years.


9:24AM Why did they buy this? "I'm sure it's not because it's beautiful." Three value propositions -- lower energy costs, clean power, and reliable power


9:24AM All electric, plug and play future of electricity. No Frankenstein heat sinks, no loud buzz. There are five units in the world, all at eBay.



9:23AM Lights go down, drape goes down and... it's a TARDIS! No we kid, it's just a giant box on the outside. "This is my baby."



9:22AM "It is with great pride, on the Bloom's half, to introduce server.


9:22AM He's talking about proof points, herein known as products and customers. "Until that happened, it was not right to be speaking to you and telling you what we do. It took 8 years and over 400 million cumulative hours of making and breaking, improving and testing this fuel cell to get it to the point where we needed to get. Get the early units out to customers, have it tested, prove it was capable. This is a day I've been looking forward [to] for a long time."


9:21AM "If I ended the presentation now, think about what you'd all be thinking. Here's KR wanting to play in a sandbox. Building sand castles."



9:20AM Here comes the analogy! "Like servers, when you need more, you add as clusters." Buy as you grow model.


9:20AM He's now holding a stack -- enough to power an US household year-round. A few more and it'd apparently power a Starbucks. "We'd prefer you call it a Bloom energy server," he said, referencing the parking space-sized masses.



9:19AM The slide in his hand once only powered 5 watts. Now it does 25 watts, enough to keep a light bulb running.



9:17AM 24/7, 365. "This is not when the sun shines, this is not when the wind blows... that's how this little piece of sand is different than what's been done before."



9:17AM Carbon neutrality -- another buzz word here.


9:17AM Compared to the US national grid, it's about twice as efficient. "For the same amount of electricity you consume, you need half" than usual.



9:16AM Home of the future: a solar panel and a bloom box can power your car and keep your house. "Don't start signing up for orders yet, this is a product of the future." A decade or whereabouts, he estimates -- hey, we've pre-ordered farther ahead than that.



9:15AM We're looking at a Fuel + Air <-> Electricity equilibrium equation. This fuel cell can go both ways in this equation.


9:14AM "Depending on what location [the customer] use the product, they can use the local fuel. That's a big deal. Secondly, if you have the choice of multiple fuels you can switch at will, you can arbitrage, you can get the cheapest fuel going into your box and get the best economics out of the box. That's how it's useful." Can we use other powder to power fuel cells? Is that too recursive?


9:13AM Cost. It's cheap. Fuel flexibility. "We can use a variety of materials... this fuel cell can take any of those fuels, and because of the unique chemistry, use that to produce electricity without the need for chemical plants that are complex that need to process the fuel. The fuel cell does all that for us. That's the uniqueness."



9:12AM Cost, flexibility, reversibliity, and electrical performance. Ladies and gentleman, our table of contents for the next few.




9:11AM The process to make the cells? "Powder to power" ... clever.


9:11AM The Bloom Energy fuel cell, a flat piece of sand. He holds it high over his head.


9:10AM "What's the magic sauce?" The secret uncloaked and it's... sand! If you saw the 60 Minutes special, no surprises so far -- but really, we were still clinging to hope of some Martian species behind the curtain.


9:09AM "We had to integrate these ideas into one simple project, and that is what we've been at. And to do this -- remember the affordable part being highlighted? -- we need to start with something simple."



9:08AM "Yes folks, we did not invent the fuel cell." Take all these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and put together.


9:07AM "The need for backyard power to be clean, that's a centuries old idea -- we just had to go back to it."



9:06AM "For energy to be distributed, it had to be clean." Its mission: To make clean reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world.



9:05AM Look at computers. Telephones. As they became portable and affordable, the were more adopted.


9:04AM "My conclusion was very simple. Way before we had to confront environmental issues associated with this, the geopolitical issues that we'd face was a very big deal. That was not acceptable. You can't conserve your way out of this problem, you can't drill your way out of this problem... we simply had to find a different way."




9:03AM We're looking at a composite images of the world at night. "For me, it was really a composite image of... a bright world and a dark world. It was the image of the world of haves and the world of have nots. Those who had the opportunity for economy growth and those who were denied that." One in 3 humans -- 2 billion humans -- don't have affordable access to energy.


9:01AM Those who had climbed out of poverty over the years wanted the same things everyone wants: more of everything. Power, water ... but the old the ways weren't working.


9:00AM Sridhar is talking about his work as a professor doing space exploration and rocket research. "After spending a decade of working on this, I had to look back at our first home. While I was dreaming about Mars and our colonies, historically unprecedented things had happened on Earth."


8:59AM "Our journey to here began millions of miles away at Mars." Alien technology, of course! Where's The Doctor to save us now?




8:59AM They embrace, share a hug, do a photo opp. "Very nice" -- when the Governator says that, you can't help but get chills down your spine.


8:58AM We've moved onto the jobs speech. And now, more congratulations. "California is proud to greet you as one of our own." K.R. is returning!


8:56AM "Here's the reason California is leading the green revolution: because we saw the potential and it's awesome." New bills passed, standards, and so on and so forth. "We're doing what government does best: setting laws and then getting out of the way so you can do what you do best."


8:55AM Bloom's invention is 60 percent cleaner than a coal power plant, and it produces that power on site. No transmission lines, no grid where energy gets wasted. Five of these "mystery boxes" -- "it's good, keep it a mystery" he quips -- are running eBay HQ.



8:54AM "I was here [Bloom] in 2006 when it started, I was there with Mayor Bloomberg." He's now talking about the "spirit and optimism" of California.


8:52AM A thanks to Colin Powell and other



8:51AM "I love hanging out with this guy, because I'm not the only one with an accent." Oh Ahnuld, you make us laugh.


8:51AM And here's Arnold!


8:50AM Founder K.R. Sridhar has taken the stage, given major props to the support of our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.


8:49AM "We can change the face of energy. We can change the world." We can't wait to see this.


8:49AM Video trailer. "There were those who said we'd never fly... history is full of doubters and naysayers." Oh yeah, this is gonna be a tad heavy-handed.


8:48AM Looks like Bloom Energy's website's gone live: http://www.bloomenergy.com. And we've begun!



8:44AM We've taken our seats on the bleachers. The ominous announcer is asking us for our cell phones to be off -- let nothing stand in the way of us and an energy revolution.