Startup Bloom unveils fuel cells to energy buildings

Poornima Gupta SAN JOSE, California Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:02pm EST Related News Walmart Canada to build "green" distribution hubWed, Feb 10 2010UPDATE 1-Solvay to test large fuel cell at Belgium plantWed, Feb 10 2010Fuel cell scooter offers green commuting easeWed, Feb 3 2010Q+A-Skin cells transformed directly to nerve in studyWed, Jan 27 2010

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Silicon Valley start-up Bloom Energy on Wednesday unveiled a new fuel cell technology that can power buildings, positioning the energy generators as an alternative to the electricity grid.

Questions, however, remain about the long-term adoption and viability of a technology that has been around for decades but has yet to see mass market commercial applications.

Bloom"s solid oxide fuel cell has managed to attract powerful early adopters, including Google Inc, eBay Inc, Coca Cola Co, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, FedEx Corp and Staples Inc.

Fuel cells are not a new concept and often have been touted as the ultimate clean technology to power vehicles.

Most major automakers have spent billions of dollars in researching a hydrogen-powered fuel cell for vehicles, tempted by the idea of a car that uses no gasoline and emits only water vapor.

That research is now mostly on the back burner, given the expense, transportation issues and volatility of hydrogen gas.

Bloom"s energy generating boxes cost $700,000 to $800,000 and run on a variety of fuels, including natural gas. Each of energy server provides 100 kilowatts of electricity -- enough to power about 100 average U.S. homes -- with roughly the footprint of a parking space.

Bloom"s fuel cell works by converting air and a fuel source -- such as natural gas to a range of biogases -- into electricity through an electrochemical process.

Even running on natural gas, the systems are over 65 percent cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant, the company said.

Customers can expect a 3- to 5-year payback period on their investment in the boxes with the electricity costs working out to about 10 cents per kilowatt hour, including all subsidies, said Bloom Chief Executive K.R. Sridhar.

The average retail price of electricity in United States in 2008 was 9.74 cents per kWh, according to the Energy Information Administration. Residential customers on average paid 11.3 cents, commercial customers paid 10.4 cents and industrial customers paid 6.8 cents.

After eight years of development, Bloom Energy unveiled the fuel cell at a media briefing that featured political and business heavyweights including Google"s founder Larry Page, Wal-Mart"s Chief Operating Officer Bill Simon, and Ebay"s Chief Executive John Donahue.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is a board member of Bloom, which has raised over $400 million from investors including Silicon Valley powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, as well as Morgan Stanley, NEA, and Northgate Capital.

Sridhar, The former NASA scientist, said the "Bloom Energy Server," as he calls it, is different from hydrogen fuel cells as it uses lower cost materials, has greater efficiency and is more easily deployed and maintained.

"The core of our technology is simply sand that is available in plenty," Sridhar said, showing off a small photograph-sized plate.

But the key to the future of Bloom Energy, which offers a 10-year warranty on the product, lies in whether its fuel cells would function robustly over time and whether they can ramp up manufacturing.

EBay Chief Executive John Donahue said the company, which is using five of the Bloom boxes at its headquarters in San Jose, decided on the product as it made economic sense.

"We are talking to Bloom for other facilities," he said.

Google founder Larry Page said he was a big supporter of the technology. The search giant was Bloom"s first customer in July 2008 and uses the fuel cell to power a building on its main campus in Mountain View, California, a facility that includes an experimental data center.

"I would love to see us having a whole data center running on this," Page said.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Richard Chang)

I didn�t conduct to get Eusebio�s shirt but I did convince him to frame to his underpants to let me have his shorts

August 22, 2002: Neil Lennon is 24 hours on from the loyalist death-threat telephone call that terminated his Northern Ireland career and is back in Glasgow at his club, Celtic.

Awaiting him there is his manager Martin ONeill who, like Lennon, is a Northern Irish Catholic and who, like Lennon, captained his country. ONeill did so in the turbulent days of the early 1980s. So there would be understanding, sympathy, or so Lennon thought.

As he tells it, though, on returning to Celtic, ONeill met Lennon with the words: ;Ah, Neil, so you got my phone call, then?

On target: Martin O"Neill scores from Distillery in the Irish Cup Final, April 1971

"Once a players in me, its hard to shift him out. Thats been the nature of my management.

;Ive done that probably because Ive always wanted that belief from managers myself. It matters.

"Brian Clough had his own way.

"When I left Forest for Norwich, Mel Machin was the manager. In my second match for Norwich we lost at Wolves, but he came in after the game and said to me, That was world class.

;That made you want to go out and perform, and to play for people. McAlinden had that. In my career he was fundamentally important.

"I was speaking to some old Distillery players recently and it wasnt just me he treated that way.

;What he did for Distillery, he had us up there challenging, we won the Irish Cup. He got a group of players, both Catholic and Protestant, in very, very difficult times, to knit together.

"Wittingly or unwittingly he had these players who would have died for him. I think thats a wonderful sign in a manager.

Distillery winning the Irish Cup is a bit like Leicester City finishing in the top half of the Premier League four seasons in a row, winning the League Cup twice in that time and going into Europe.

With Distillery, the Irish Cup also meant Europe. They drew Barcelona. In the first leg in Belfast, ONeill scored. He was still a law student at Queens University.

High point: O"Neill prods home for Northern Ireland against Portugal 1973

;We were staying in Scarborough. Met up at lunchtime. Bestie didnt arrive. Then he turned up at 10 oclock blitzed. Hed been on a pub crawl from Manchester to Scarborough. I remember him in the dressing room clattering his boots on the floor to get the mud off. They hadnt been cleaned from his last match.

;He always roomed with Pat Jennings, two world-class players together. Our family moved up to Belfast in 68 and I was at Windsor Park in 70 the day he got sent off against Scotland.

;I never saw a player want to get sent off as much. I think he finally spat at the referee. Driving rain. I was there, in the crowd at the Kop end by the tunnel. I swear to God, I could have reached out and touched him. George Best...

That game in Hull in 1972 against Spain came a fortnight after Bloody Sunday. Northern Irelands Troubles had another atrocity and here was its football team in Hull.

As Neill recalled: ;We ended up at places like Hull, Coventry, Hillsborough and Fulham, we were gypsies. But there was never any problem within the squad.

"We talked about things, yes, and there was a heightening of feeling about what was going on at home. If it doesnt sound too self-righteous, we hoped we could give our wee place a lift.

"Once a players in me, its hard to shift him out. Thats been the nature of my management."

The geographic dislocation meant ONeills first Northern Ireland goal was scored in a ;home game against Portugal, in Coventry.

;Myself, Id say being a professional footballer shielded you to an extent but not every way, ONeill said of the developing turmoil.

;There was bombing in England too. To be Irish in England then was never unbelievably bad, but it was uncomfortable at times.

"But my memory of that Portugal game was purely football, because Eusebio was playing. He might have been on his last legs but he played and I scored.

;I remember in the last 15 minutes starting to hope I might get Eusebios shirt. I noticed then that Bryan Hamilton was standing very close to Eusebio and not because he was marking him.

;So Hamilton took the shirt, much to my disgust. I exchanged shirts with another Portuguese player lovely shirts, great colouring but I walked off not completely happy.

"I was still needing something from Eusebio. So I went up to him in the tunnel and pointed to his shorts. And he took his shorts off. Went into his dressing room in his underpants.

ONeill laughed at himself again: ;Great shorts, wee stripe down the side of them.

Bomb ordering favourite to get George Cross

Sara Dixon & , : {}

AN ARMY explosve ordering consultant hailed by his autocratic troops troops officer as the bravest man he had ever met is approaching this week to be awarded the George Cross posthumously.

Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid died in Afghanistan on Oct 31 last year as his group attempted to defuse an makeshift bomb device (IED) in Helmand province. Over the prior five months he had done protected 64 roadside bombs prior to he was killed clearing an area of mines.

When the 30-year-olds physique was repatriated to Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire his lamentation widow, Christina, greeted his coffin with smiles and acclaim as she wore his medals. I am really gratified to have my father home. He is an comprehensive hero, she said.

It is approaching she will right away accept her husbands George Cross from the Queen after this year.

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The George Cross, that can additionally be awarded to civilians, ranks to one side the Victoria Cross as . It is awarded to troops crew for acts of intrepidity not in the participation of the enemy.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Thomson, the autocratic troops troops officer of 2 Rifles Battle Group, described Schmid, who was well known as Oz, as simply the bravest and majority bold man I have ever met.

He added: Under relentless IED and small arms attacks he stood taller than the tallest. He saved lives in 2 Rifles time after time.

Schmid, of eleven Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, was portion with 2 Rifles Battle Group and died the day prior to he was due to lapse to the Winchester home he common with his mother and her five-year-old son, Laird.

At his wake at Truro Cathedral, the locale where Schmid was born, his widow pronounced the last eighteen months of her husband"s hold up presented his toughest, darkest hurdles ever. During the summer Schmid took piece in Operation Panther"s Claw, the descent to transparent populated areas in executive Helmand of Taliban insurgents.

The George Cross was combined by George VI in 1940 and usually 159 have been awarded to civilians and troops personnel.

Last night an mouthpiece for the Ministry of Defence said: We do not plead operational honours and awards prior to they have been presented.

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Chile earthquake: millions influenced as fee rises to 300

Times Online & , : {}

Rescue teams have started to poke for survivors after one of the largest earthquakes on jot down killed at slightest 300 people in Chile and sent hulk waves resounding opposite the Pacific Ocean.

In an residence to the nation, President Michelle Bachelet pronounced that dual million Chileans had been influenced by the 8.8 bulk earthquake. After furloughed the worst-hit areas by air, however, she pronounced it was tough to quantify the bulk of the disaster.

"The energy of inlet has again struck the country," Ms Bachelet said, dogmatic 6 of Chile"s fifteen regions "catastrophe zones" in the issue of the earthquake, one of the world"s majority absolute for a century.

An estimated 1.5 million homes were damaged, highways were sliced to pieces, bridges imploded and buildings collapsed as the trembler struck the South American republic of sixteen million people usually prior to emergence on Saturday about 200 miles southwest of the collateral Santiago.

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"This is a mess of measureless proportions, so it will be really formidable to give accurate figures," Edmundo Perez Yoma, the Interior Minister, said.

Waves some-more than 7ft high crashed in to the Chilean seashore after the upheaval struck at 3.34am (06.34 GMT) and tore out in to the Pacific, murdering at slightest five people in the remote Robinson Crusoe islands.

In the Chilean pier of Talcahuano, trawlers were swept internal to the locale square, where they lay marooned subsequent to deserted cars.

About 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Russia are braced for hulk waves, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami mess that killed some-more than 220,000 people.

More than 70,000 people fled exposed coastal areas of Japan as a tsunami strike the country"s prolonged Pacific coastline. The initial call strike Nemuro on the northern island of Hokkaido in the early afternoon. However, the Government after downgraded the tsunami notice to "normal".

Alerts in Australia and Russia were additionally downgraded as the hazard passed.

The trembler has lifted a daunting initial plea for Sebastian Pinera, the billionaire who was inaugurated Chile"s President in Jan and who takes bureau in dual weeks.

"We"re scheming ourselves for an one some-more task, a charge that wasn"t piece of the ruling plan: presumption shortcoming for rebuilding the country," he pronounced yesterday. "It"s going to be a really big charge and we"re going to need resources."

The US Geological Survey pronounced it had available some-more than 51 aftershocks trimming from 4.9 to 6.9 given the quake.

In Concepcion, a city of 670,000 people 70 miles southwest of the quake"s epicentre, hundreds of people outlayed the night outward in tents and temporary shelters, aroused of the aftershocks.

The city"s old houses appeared to have borne the brunt of the damage, but a 15-storey unit retard additionally collapsed, probably murdering or trapping most people inside.

The city was often blanketed in darkness, with the usually light entrance from bonfires and occasional military cars. Crushed cars, downed energy lines and cracked potion dirty the streets.

The European Union pronounced that it would yield €3 million in evident assistance. Unlike Haiti, struck by a harmful trembler last month, Chile is one of Latin America"s wealthiest countries.

President Obama pronounced that America will be there if Chile asks for rescue and liberation help, but Ms Bachelet pronounced that her Government had not asked for benefit from alternative countries.

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Allied Irish Banks reports initial annual loss

David Sharrock Ireland Correspondent & , : {}

Allied Irish Banks currently reported the initial full-year net loss in the 44-year history.

Irelands greatest bank, that was founded in 1966, posted a net loss of €2.3 billion (�2.1 billion) for the twelve months to Dec 31, 2009, compared with a distinction of €890 million a year earlier. The loss was next researcher expectations of €2.9 billion.

AIB pronounced that the 2009 handling distinction prior to supplies increasing somewhat from the prior year to roughly €3 billion, but that the bank swung in to the red after receiving supplies especially on loans to the building a whole and skill sector.

Colm Doherty, the banks new handling director, told RTE, the state broadcaster, this sunrise that costs would fundamentally climb this year opposite the range of products, together with mortgages.

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Allied Irish, in that the Government acquired a twenty-five per cent surreptitious interest last year, suggested that it would send skill loans value up to €23 billion to the National Asset Management Agency, the bad bank determined by the Government to hoop poisonous loans from Irelands detonate skill bubble. That is somewhat less than an progressing guess of €24 billion.

After the send of loans to NAMA, AIB Irish operation"s loans will sum about €58 billion, that is homogeneous to we estimate 55 per cent of the group"s loan portfolio.

The bank pronounced in a matter that this year it "will prioritise restructuring and restoring the businesses to underpin viability, and renewing the group"s credit amongst all the stakeholders".

John Lewis staff to share £151m in bonuses Business

John Lewis has handed annual bonuses of £151m to the staff. Photograph: David Levene

The John Lewis Partnership has handed a bigger-than-expected annual reward of £151m to the staff after enjoying a near-10% climb in profits.

The group, that operates 224 Waitrose supermarkets as well as twenty-nine dialect stores, voiced annual increase of £306.6m this morning, incompatible bonuses and tax.

The John Lewis organisation is a partnership owned by the 70,000 permanent staff, and all of them – from the authority Charlie Mayfield and the handling executive Andy Street down to emporium assistants and shelf-stackers – get the same commission payout. Analysts had approaching a reward pot of £140m.

The staff reward amounts to 15% of simple income this year, subsequent to to scarcely eight weeks" pay. Last year workers perceived 13%, whilst in 2008, prior to the retrogression set in, they were handed 20%.

About 1,000 partners were in the flagship Oxford Street store this morning, unresolved over the balconies, as the store"s handling executive Noel Saunders asked: "Will you be unhappy if it"s 8%?" and everybody booed. He asked "What if it"s in between 8% and 10%?" and everybody announced "No!" He afterwards did a countdown from 10. The pouch containing the reward figure was opened, between majority entertaining and clapping from staff, by Frank D"Souza, a partner for the last twenty-three years who functions in the seat dialect and has completed glorious sales notwithstanding the recession.

After a tough year on the emporium building majority people are going to provide themselves to a legal legal holiday with their bonuses. "I didn"t design 15%," pronounced Ali Cook, a physical education instructor in the beauty department. "We had to work unequivocally tough and lift together to grasp this."

Marcelo Cueva from Ecuador, who functions in the post room as an admin assistant, said: "I"m going to compensate off my debt and have a bit additional for a legal legal holiday in Italy. I wish to go behind to my nation but not nonetheless – may be with the subsequent bonus." Charlotte Clark, who functions on the emporium floor, is going to put the income towards horseriding lessons, and joked that "it"s not utterly sufficient for a horse".

Street is going to outlay the payout on a complicated landscape portrayal this Saturday. "This is a genuine bonus. It"s for people who are not fantastically well paid and enables them to share in the success of their business," he said.

"The mercantile meridian is unequivocally tough to read, but the sales given the begin of the year have been remarkable."

John Lewis sum sales were 17.5% higher in the initial five weeks, and up 14.9% on a like-for-like basis, whilst Waitrose sum sales have grown by 11.3% (2.8% like-for-like). "But all the interpretation we see about the marketplace shows it"s unequivocally flat," Street added.

Asked either he deserved his bonus, Street said: "The partners contingency decider either I"ve warranted my reward this year."

At the half-year, the group"s increase were down 20% and would have been far worse but the upmarket Waitrose chain, that defied expectations that shoppers would forsake to cheaper rivals during the downturn. Waitrose enjoyed like-for-like sales enlargement of 3.6% last year, with sum sales 9% higher at £4.5bn. The grocer outperformed the John Lewis dialect stores, where like-for-like sales grew by 2.3%, and sum sales strike £2.9bn.

Mayfield said: "Waitrose has done huge swell in the year with poignant investment in both cost and in the growth of new shops, new formats and vital partnerships. Each week up to 400,000 some-more people are right away selecting to emporium at Waitrose."

Waitrose introduced an Essentials range of over 1,400 simple dishes that has been renouned with shoppers, and has been the star actor between grocers over the past year. Last week, the handling director, Mark Price, pronounced that he directed to stand in sales to £10bn in a decade.

The John Lewis chain, well known for the "Never Knowingly Undersold" slogan, additionally had big enlargement plans, but has ditched the idea of opening 10 new dialect stores since of the recession. Instead, it is rising not as big John Lewis at Home stores in sell parks. The first, non-stop in Poole last October, has knocked about the targets and a second is programmed in Croydon. Two some-more were authorized last week, and if they additionally perform well, a serve 50 will be rolled out.

The fugitives who wish usually to keep their family groups together

Commentary: Camilla Cavendish & , : {}

Exactly dual years ago I wrote about an English encampment rocked by the headlines that dual of the parishioners had fled abroad. A 56-year-old office worker had helped his profound mom to rush with her son from amicable workers who had taken him in to caring and who were melancholy to seize her unborn baby. The father returned to England and was locked up for sixteen months for abducting the boy, even though the kid was unfortunate to stick on his mother. Many readers concluded that this man was not a rapist but a favourite on a forgiveness mission.

Blunders by the authorities were kept tip by gagging orders that The Times went to good lengths to reveal. The box became one of those that assured the Government to open up the family courts.

Yet this family are still ripped apart: the lady and young kids in stealing abroad, and the man in England, carrying never seen his new daughter.

We detected that the story was not unique. A series of British adults have left the nation since they fear, righteously or wrongly, that their young kids will be taken away. They know that if those young kids are put up for embracing a means they might never see them again. The Coote family, whose story is described above, felt that they had no preference but to rush from Suffolk amicable services, notwithstanding the grandparents charity to encourage the baby if needed.

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Are these relatives paranoid? Possibly. But I have investigated as well most cases of misapplication in this area not to have good magnetism for them. Some internal authorities have been overzealous in perplexing to remove children.

What these cases simulate is a towering loss of conviction in probity on the piece of typical citizens. The fugitives are unfortunate to keep their family groups together. Most are suspected of carrying the intensity to means their young kids romantic harm. You could review their preference to rush as the idealisation action of love.

Japan Transport Minister hints at cover at Toyota

Leo Lewis, Middle East Business Correspondent & , : {}

The Japanese Government incited the guns on Toyota currently as the Transport Minister hinted at a cover of reserve issues at the carmaker that is underneath rapist review by the United States over the stop of millions of cars.

Seiji Maehara pronounced that there was a high probability that Toyota had not sufficient common report over probable defects with the authorities.

He combined that Toyotas approval of the responsibilities had been as well light.

Last night a sovereign grand jury in the US released a summons to force Toyota to give up papers relating to a predicament that has forced it to stop 8.5 million cars opposite the creation given of problems trimming from gummy accelerator pedals to poor brakes.

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Problems with the vehicles are thought to have caused at slightest thirty main road deaths, left the association confronting potentially large class-action lawsuits and forced it to commence the majority endless stop programme in automotive history.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has created to Jim Lentz, Toyotas head of US sales, accusing the association of creation dubious open statements about new recalls and observant that it had resisted the probability that defects could means remarkable increase in speed in the vehicles.

The association additionally faces a array of congressional hearings in the United States, where government will face questions about when the association realised that it had critical reserve issues on the hands and either it attempted to disguise those from regulators.

Akio Toyoda, the boss of Toyota and the grandson of the companys founder, will crop up prior to Congress tomorrow, after eventually bowing to flourishing open vigour to appear.

Mr Maehara"s remarks follow the presentation of papers display Toyotas comparison American government braggadocio over cost assets that arose from the association distinguished a understanding with the US authorities.

Through the understanding in 2007, Toyota was means to get afar with usually a singular stop of 55,000 cars and save $100 million notwithstanding widening concerns of problems with the accelerators.

An inner presentation, detailing the savings, was done at Toyotas Washington bureau last Jul usually a month prior to US regulators had started to couple Toyota accelerator issues to some-more than a dozen deaths.

In September, a California main road unit military officer and his family were killed in an collision allegedly caused by a tangled accelerator pedal.

Henry Waxman, the authority of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, pronounced in a matter last night: Our rough comment is that Toyota resisted the probability that electronic defects could means reserve concerns, relied on a injured engineering report, and done dubious open statements connected with the endowment of new recalls to residence the risk of remarkable unintended acceleration.

Both the Japanese and US authorities are underneath augmenting vigour to clear their own reply to early reports of gummy accelerator pedals.

Japan, that has so far conducted usually a lifeless inspection of Toyotas behaviour, might right away be forced to mountain a high-profile review in to the probability of a cover-up.

The Japanese Governments on all sides has tougher or stronger usually hours prior to what is approaching to be Mr Toyodas majority agonising day given apropos boss of Toyota 7 months ago.

He is approaching to bear a far some-more complete hearing than he has ever been subjected to at home.

Toyota is not usually a Japanese company, but additionally an American firm,"" Mr Maehara said.

I goal it will reply to all counts with a frank demeanour with the recognition that it is additionally obliged for the US economy, provision and safety.

Some observers in Japan hold that Mr Toyoda is being set up as a sacrificial lamb and that, nonetheless his association might in truth be guilty of an unsound reply to reserve concerns, Toyota is being done in to a available Asian aim for American politicians.