Bloom Energy valuation at $1 billion, but green energy is priceless

Bloom Energy burst into the green energy microcosm with a bang earlier this year when it organized a launch event that included some political and business heavyweights like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and executives from companies like eBay, Google, and Coca-Cola. Since then Bloom Energy hasn’t shared many new details publicly but a recently released report is indicating the company is work $1.034 billion were it to go public.

That’s not a small number, and the primary piece driving that prediction is Bloom Energy’s existing relationships with major companies plus estimates on additional business gained in the next several years. NeXTt Up published the report and gathered much of its research from fuel cell experts, via Forbes. That’s further confirmation that Bloom Energy is keeping its capabilities under wraps for now, likely because it wants to protect trade secrets while working to maximize market share.

The approach is similar in many ways to Eestor, which also keeps a tight cap on information shared regarding its ultracapacitor  technology. It’s understandable that companies want to protect their investments, but it also makes generating any sort of real trust with the public difficult. Certainly that’s what some Bloom Energy’s goal was by involving big names in its debut event earlier this year.

The company *has* shared that the Bloom Box will accept renewable energy sources or fossil fuel sources as inputs for its generator, and that it’s capable of generating power 60% more efficiently than a coal power plant. It expects that prices will be competitive with purchasing electricity from the grid and that the devices provide power in a distributed manner through parking space sized devices it calls “Energy Servers”. An apt metaphor taken from the technology world for servers that distribute information to a network of connected devices.

Overall it’s exciting to see energy companies like Bloom Energy enjoying relative success through their infant and adolescent stages, but until concrete demonstrations highlighting the economics are available, their effect on a true energy evolution is hazy at best.