----- Original Message -----
From: Jones Beene
To: vortex
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 11:00 PM
Subject: [Vo]:Good Article from last month
"Capitalism to the Rescue" By Jon Gertner
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/magazine/05Green-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine
Very upbeat considering all the bad news in the rest or the economy - Check
out the hidden jewel on page 3 - Bloom Energy.
This one has been in stealth mode, and the story indicates that the
fuel-cell hype of five years ago may yet pan out, despite the horrible
failure to deliver by the high-fliers in Canada. “It took $25 million of
venture capital to get Google into business, but it’s taken $250 million of
private capital to get Bloom into business." This makes what Mills at BLP
has burned through look almost like pocket change.
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MC: There is a vast difference between an R&D program and a product ready
for mass deployment. Hundreds of millions of difference. The $60 million of
investment in BLP research is just the ante to enter the game. Building a
*qualified* utility prototype may cost as much or more. Deployment of BLP
hydrogen modules or distributed power sources will be much more.
Mike Carrell
