Xpost- LBN: Bloom Box Launch Is "Big Hype"--Invention Nothing New?

[kristopher]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4282502

It's a big hype. I'm actually pretty pissed off about it, to be quite honest," said Nigel Sammes, a ceramic engineer and fuel cell expert at the Colorado School of Mines. ..."It really is nothing new. Go to any Web site and you'll see the same stuff."

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. From the same article

...

No Reason to Doubt Bloom Box Tech?

Friedrich "Fritz" Prinz, a fuel cell expert at Stanford University, said there's no reason to doubt that the Bloom Box works as Bloom Energy's Sridhar claims.

"The solid oxide fuel cell technology they're pursuing is one of the most attractive fuel cell technologies there is," said Prinz, who was not involved in the Bloom Box's development.

Based on the 60 Minutes segment, Prinz said, the design of the Bloom Box appears to be fairly standard and that there was nothing obviously revolutionary about it.

"They didn't reveal any new physics or any new principles, but I don't think they need to do that," Prinz added.

...

[kristopher]

2. Link to original NatGeo article

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100224-bloom-box-launch-bloom-energy-press-conference-update

National Geographic News

Published February 24, 2010

The Bloom Box—an as yet unbuilt in-home "power plant" ...

But fuel cell experts say that, based on the information the company made public today, the Bloom Box technology is not revolutionary, nor is it the cheapest or most efficient fuel cell system available.

"It's a big hype. I'm actually pretty pissed off about it, to be quite honest," said Nigel Sammes, a ceramic engineer and fuel cell expert at the Colorado School of Mines.

And if there was any doubt about whether this hoodoo was hype or real, get this claim from the developer:

K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, said that, for one thing, the Bloom Box fuel cell system is a much better, or at least more reliable, alternative to solar power as a green energy source.

Claiming this device is "an energy source" is like claiming that a car engine is "an energy source". And in light of the fact that he used solar as the basic of his comparison, there can be no question. This device requires fuel. The fuel is the energy source, not the device. That isn't a casual mistake, for he MUST know that it is false.
No wonder Sammes is "pissed off".