By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

In Part III of my Bloom Energy interview with CEO KR Sridhar, we discuss the affordability of the Bloom Box and what barriers to entry make the fuel cell sector difficult to penetrate. As CNET’s Brooke Crothers emphasized in his recent article there are many fuel cell manufacturers with expensive products; Bloom has to prove itself special by making its fuel cells SIGNIFICANTLY more affordable. It’s a long road from $800,000 (Google and eBay’s beta Bloom Boxes’ price tag) to $3,000 -which KR says is the backyard-box goal).

The BBC’s correspondent, Maggie Shiel underlines affordability in her post on Bloom’s reach for energy Nirvana; and Grist’s Todd Woody expounds further on the challenges Bloom faces and Walmart’s role in driving down costs.

This from Bloom CEO, KR Sridhar:

“Our goal is clearly to make it affordable. It needs mass market adoption, … If it’s not affordable, it’ll be the niche market…it’ll be a Tesla.  We need it to be a Honda Civic.”

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KR Sridhar on barriers to entry:

Technical

“It’s a very complex interdisciplinary field…it requires knowledge in a significant number of engineering, science, and material science disciplines. And the development of all the process know-how is fairly complex.”

Financial

“There’s a significant amount of capital that need to be invested over a long period of time to get it to where it needs to be.” (Reportedly over $400 Million has been invested in Bloom Energy since 2002, from several venture capital firms, led by Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr.)

To see Part I of the Bloom Energy interview where KR discusses the company’s technology and efficiency click here

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Like most ambitious entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar wants to change the world. Now where have we heard that line before? It’s the ubiquitous rally cry for thousands of Google/ Facebook/eBay wannabes around the world.  But what makes KR Sridhar different?

How about $400 Million in venture capital from the likes of Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr; a 100-strong team of PhD. rocket scientists (like himself) and top engineers from multiple disciplines who’ve been working secretly for eight years; and a client list that includes Google, eBay, Staples and FedEx. Add to that, enthusiastic backing from Arnold Schwarzenegger, splashy coverage from CBS’s 60 Minutes, and Time Magazine which last December dubbed him one of eight “Tech pioneers who will change your life.”

Yet, it does sound too good to be true. Not surprisingly, the naysayers are aplenty.  A skeptical article in the Economist said there were many reasons for questioning the company’s “hype”, including the difficulty of shrinking the fuel cell components, and competition from the likes of GE. In a typically British fashion, it mocked Bloom Energy’s ambitions, referring to “flower power” and “fuel’s gold” in the article.

But if we look back a few years; before KR Sridhar emerged from stealth to become the Steve Jobs of Green Energy – more substantive information emerges. He was quoted in Tom Friedman’s New York Times column as saying,“We are thrivers. Thrivers are constantly looking for new opportunities to seize and lead and be number one. That is what America is about.” In an exclusive interview at the Bloom Energy headquarters, I asked him to explain this comment, his motivations and why he believes his company really can change the world. Distributed power that is reliable, and affordable are key parts of his strategy.

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To see Part I of the Bloom Energy interview where KR discusses the company’s technology and efficiency click here

Excerpt from the Interview Transcript

“This is a mission about changing the world because energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that does not have access to power, access to electricity, to give them that is empowering them to a better life. So if the solution works and you make it affordable and you can distribute it all over the world then definitely you have changed the world. So … if that’s your goal and you achieve that goal, clearly given the size of the energy market, it’s in trillions not in billions and given how many people you can impact with this kind of stuff, this has to be a prominent company. So, I would say being the number one corporation is an offshoot of achieving your larger mission.”

KR Sridhar, CEO Bloom Energy

To check out more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews with Tom Friedman, Vinod Khosla, Paul Krugman, and many other leaders click here

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. His fuel cell company is already powering Google, so that should make any skeptic take note.

A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is now harnessing his visionary skills and a large team of engineers to solve the energy crisis. His ambitious goal? To revolutionize the energy industry, just like cell phones revolutionized the communications industry. His team is developing  high efficiency fuel cells to provide a global distributed system of electricity supply at low cost and a low (and ultimately zero) carbon footprint. Clients include Google, eBay, Fedex and Walmart. Not too shabby.

The company has been in stealth mode for the last eight years and industry speculation has been rife about its future plans. Thanks to a CBS 60 Minutes Report by Lesley Stahl on February 21st, and the official Bloom Energy unveiling, many more details are now available of this potentially revolutionary product.

Even before opening his doors to 60 Minutes, KR agreed to discuss Bloom Energy’s progress in this exclusive and detailed Fresh Dialogues interview, recorded in 2009. To read the interview transcript click here

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Why is energy the focus of KR Sridhar’s mission?

“Energy is a passport to a better living. For the rest of the world that doesn’t have access to power, to electricity; to give them that is empowering them to a better life. If your solution works and you make it affordable and you distribute it all over the world, then you have definitely changed the world….You give power to the people.”

What’s in the Bloom Box?

“It takes the chemical energy from the fuel and converts that to electrons with no in between conversion. So you are changing your currency only once. It’s an electro-chemical reaction..like a battery…but the big difference is it’s a power generator so you keep supplying the fuel in and you’ll keep getting the electrons out – most importantly without combustion. It’s a one step conversion… high efficiency…you burn less fuel – less greenhouse gases -and eliminate all the combustion related polluting gases.”

What’s the link with transportation?

“Transportation can potentially go in two directions in the future. One is a hydrogen infrastructure for the car, the other one is an electrical infrastructure for the car…plug-in hybrids…Our device can either produce the electricity that’ll charge the car or provide you hydrogen if the transportation becomes hydrogen based. So we’ve sort of become the gas station for the transportation industry.”

There are still many unanswered questions about Bloom Energy, but here are some more clues.

To check out more Fresh Dialogues VIDEO interview segments click here and check back next week for ANOTHER video interview segment with lots more PRODUCT AND BUSINESS PLAN DETAIL about Bloom Energy.

By Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues

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Rolf Papsdorf, President of the Alternative Energy Development Corporation was a recipient of the 2009 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, for bringing renewable energy (zinc fuel cells) and empowerment to a small community in South Africa. Check out this exclusive interview with Mr. Papsdorf who discusses how to create a carbon neutral community, the advantages of zinc fuel cells (portability is a big plus) and why he wants to meet Al Gore.

Read more from the orginial post here

And enjoy the video of the affable Mr. Papsdorf:

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

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The Obama administration ought to have sent an envoy to the FountainBlue State of Clean Green Conference on January 29, 2010. A panel of Silicon Valley clean tech experts had much to share in response to Moderator Greentech Media’s Eric Wesoff’s question…if you had Department of Energy Secretary, Steve Chu’s job, what would you do? In other words, how can Obama better jumpstart the clean tech economy?

Tim Woodward, Managing Director, Nth Power said the government needs to create market demand,  and recommends that every government building should have solar power and be retrofitted for energy efficiency; but warned,

“There’s a little too much of a ‘large check mandate’ in the Federal Government that picks technologies and stifles innovation at lower levels: figure out how to get smaller dollars into the innovation engine of smaller companies.”

Laurie Yoler, Managing Director, GrowthPoint Technology Partners said,

“I look at the pricing and incentivizing through market pricing. We’re still subsidizing imported oil without putting the investment into alternative energies…I think we should put a tax on imported oil and use it to help pay off some of the defense spending we’re using to protect the transmission of that oil. We need to forge ahead with cap and trade legislation… until we have a price on carbon it’s hard for the markets to plan and have any certainty.”

Continue reading ‘How Can Obama Jumpstart Clean Tech? Silicon Valley Experts Respond’ »

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

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Laurie Yoler, a managing director of Growth Point Technology Partners, was a founding board member of Tesla Motors and currently serves on its advisory board. I met with her at the FountainBlue Clean Green Annual Conference on Friday January 29th, the day Tesla announced its planned IPO. Needless to say, Yoler was bullish about Tesla’s prospects this year. We also discussed President Obama’s State of the Union Speech on January 27th and the government’s role in stimulating green technology.

Good news for Green Tech Venture Capitalists in State of Union Speech?

“Rather than what our president said that night, I look at what’s actually taking place, the changes I’m seeing. President Obama as a president has embraced sustainability throughout his tenure.”

Obama’s role: could he do more?

Continue reading ‘Laurie Yoler: On Tesla, Venture Capital and Obama’ »

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

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Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, global warming, and alternative energy. This respected scientist spoke candidly about global warming -”I’ll be honest, it’s too late, all the ice is going to melt.” READ the TRANSCRIPT

On the global warming controversy: Natural cycle or Human impact?

“Hey folks: it’s both.  Whenever you have a tremendous controversy both sides tend to be right and wrong. You do have the natural interglacial warming that we’re experiencing, but you are increasing the severity of it with the human footprint.  The concern most people have is that we can’t do much about the natural cycle, but we can do a lot about the human cycle. ..if you steepen it too much, evolution can’t keep up and you get extinction.”

On being Politically Correct

“Sometimes I see this tombstone that says, “the human race came and went but it was politically correct.” As a scientist I am not politically correct. My job is not to be politically correct. My job is to call it as I see it. And I see that the biggest problem the human race has is that there are too many of us.”

On the need to reduce our carbon footprint
Continue reading ‘Robert Ballard: Titanic Explorer Talks Climate Change’ »

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Check out this audio-only version which captures Emmett Carson’s off-camera exuberance and humor.

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Last week, I sat down with Emmett Carson, President and CEO of the  Silicon Valley Community Foundation. In a wide ranging conversation on green jobs, the Obama White House, education and financial literacy, we focused in on the role of the $1.7 Billion Foundation in addressing the immediate job crisis in Silicon Valley. How should coalitions of green minded people come together to create a green jobs mecca in the Bay Area? How do you jump start a green jobs explosion? According to Emmett, it’s all about forging informed dialogues between powerful coalitions.

On Creating a Green Jobs Mecca

“There has to be a group of people who are going to make some strategic investments…There are coalitions of green folk who are already meeting… where government officials can help, where foundations folk can help and be attuned and listen to what they say they need and where there opportunities will be. So that you start to say to the community colleges, ‘here are the kinds of jobs to train people for.’ What are the jobs that are going to stay around for a ten year cycle? This is the more thoughtful, longer term thinking that we need all of our public leaders to engage in…if we’re really going to have that green jobs explosion.”

On Mayor Chuck Reed’s Green Vision
Continue reading ‘Emmett Carson: How To Create a Green Jobs Mecca’ »

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

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Elise Zoli, a partner with Goodwin Procter, is a specialist in energy  and clean tech law; and teaches at MIT. I caught up with her at a Fountain Blue Green Transport Event where we discussed two hot areas in clean tech: energy storage and nuclear power. Elise explains the important role of energy storage in making solar and wind energy more reliable; and why she’d like to redefine energy storage to make it sexy. She’s coining a new phrase: “dispatchable renewable power.”

On making energy storage sexy

“Energy storage sounds like something that you don’t want to talk about, something that belongs in the closet. But the idea is to enable renewables (solar and wind) to have a greater chunk of the American demand…integrated storage flattens out the intermittency issues.”

On nuclear power

“The N word is difficult in the context of renewable …but most experts who look at climate change and energy security believe there is a significant role for nuclear. “

On nuclear waste and other impacts

“Nuclear has a favorable balance of environmental impacts. Every technology, even solar and wind, have their externalities. On balance, does it advance our climate change goals? The technology deserves to be considered.”

On the traveling wave reactor or TWR

“For the traveling wave reactor they actually consume waste as fuel. The promise of the technology is to reduce waste…The material will be managed in place as opposed to having a long term waste repository.”

This is Part Two of the interview.

To check out Part One, where Elise explores the government’s role in clean tech and the stimulus package, click here.

The interview was recorded at the FountainBlue Clean Green Transport Conference in Santa Clara on July 6, 2009.