Bloom Energy Installs First Fuel Cell Overseas with Investment from Japan's SoftBank

SoftBank, a Japanese technology investment company, invested in a joint venture with Bloom Energy, fuel cell manufacture from Silicon Valley to bring its fuel cell products overseas. As a result of their investment, a 200-kilowatt system was installed to power 75% of energy needs of a 21-story high-rise building in Fukuoka, the first Bloom Energy fuel cell to be installed overseas. Down the road, Bloom Energy hopes to not only distribute power in Japan, but to distribute DC power instead of the power industry's requirement of AC power usage. Japan would like to be the first to produce DC power directly instead of transforming AC into DC and avoid the 10% of power lost during the process.

Asia has experienced an increase in carbon dioxide emissions that have doubled in the last 20 years. The use of fuel cells reduces half the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the gas companies that supply energy to the grid today. Japan's need to lower emission levels allows for high market potential for cleaner energy systems.



December 20, 2013