© Bloom

The enormous interest in hydrogen and fuel cell technology has brought a lot of attention to the publicly listed companies in this field. Fuel cell producers like Bloom Energy, however, are finding it difficult to benefit to a comparable extent from the upswing in the H2 sector because their plants are still dependent on fossil gases for the time being. H2-international talked to the head of business development at Bloom Energy Germany, Dr. Stephan Reimelt, about some challenges involved in supplying decentralized energy through fuel cell plants.

H2-international: Dear Dr. Reimelt, It seems that you joined Bloom Energy in April 2021. How did you come to lead the German branch of a US fuel cell manufacturer?

Reimelt: Before joining Bloom Energy as a strategic advisor, I was the CEO of GE Germany. A number of former GE executives are part of Bloom’s leadership and management team, including previous GE CEO Jeff Immelt, who serves on Bloom Energy’s board, and Greg Cameron, who held a number of officer and leadership roles at GE and who is Bloom’s CFO. Through our previous work together, Bloom reached out to me to see if I would be interested in helping to lead its next phase of growth as the company expands into new international markets.

H2-international: Before, you worked as the CEO and President at General Electric Europe. What parallels do you see between your previous and your new job?

Both GE and Bloom Energy are pioneering energy companies who are leaders in the industry, with missions to bring innovative solutions to help the world think differently about where our energy comes from and the equipment needed to produce and consume energy in new ways.

H2-international: How are your first months at Bloom going?

The demand for our fuel-flexible, non-combustion Energy Servers is strong, and as Europe faces an unprecedented energy crisis, we are seeing demand from a number of organizations here. We are achieving record acceptances and revenue quarter over quarter. We have started to ship our high-temperature, high-efficiency solid oxide electrolyzers internationally. We are making great progress on our technology roadmap to deliver our new products to market, and we are building out our manufacturing capacity needed to meet both current and future demand. The demand for Bloom’s solutions is growing dramatically, and it’s an incredibly exciting time to be a part of Bloom.

H2-international: As a member of the international management team, you will also be responsible for the expansion of the company’s activities into Germany. What approach are you taking to achieve this?

Our mission is clear – we bring clean, reliable and cost-predictable energy. And to bring high efficiency energy solutions to the local market, there is not one silver bullet to solve this energy crisis – it’s critical that both public and private sector work together to solve the energy challenges we face. A partnership ecosystem is also important – radical collaboration unlocks solutions to the world’s most pressing energy problems. We are working with potential partners to tailor solutions to the needs of Germany’s energy transition. There are a number of opportunities and challenges related to power availability, reliability, sustainability and costs, and this is exactly what Bloom is tackling.[…]

… Read this article to the end in the latest H2-International

Author: Sven Geitmann