Alex Reid

Amusingly called the Bloom Box, this fuel-cell component is promised to boost power – not bass – independent of the central grid (where you get your electricity from). Think of it as “cold-fusion-in-a-box” as it’s literally a stack of ceramic plates separated by cheap metal alloy plates.

A small stack of these plates are said to power a small home, depending on the energy demand of course. Bloom Energy founder K.R. Sridhar calls the invention the “plug-and-play future of electricity”.

The ‘box’ inhales methane, other hydrocarbons and oxygen. The box of plates are heated up to 1,000′C.  Filter dead air out. Result is electricity!

After 8 years of planning, Willy Wonka opened the doors to 60 Minutes to show the world they mean business. The only complaints so far by pundits (not users) have been cost, size and ROI, which were the same complaints about computers 50 years ago. In new markets, of course everything starts off as expensive.