New Delhi, August 22, 2016: GAIL (India) Limited and Silicon Valley-based Bloom Energy today announced a new partnership to transform India’s energy future through the use of innovative technology and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deploy revolutionary natural gas-based fuel cell technology to generate electricity.
In the presence of Hon’ble Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, the MoU was signed by Shri B C Tripathi, C&MD, GAIL (India) Limited and Dr. K R Sridhar, CEO and Founder, Bloom Energy. CEO, Niti Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant and Additional Secretary, MoPNG, Shri A P Sawhney also graced the occasion.
The technology is presently being used by over 100 of the Fortune 500 companies that are diversified majors in FMCG, IT, Telecom, Retailing and e-commerce. The state-of-the-art solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology of Bloom Energy Servers convert fuel into electricity using Natural Gas as the base fuel to generate reliable and resilient electricity in a highly efficient non-combustible process that reduces emissions of greenhouse gas and harmful air pollutants, with minimal use of water vis-à-vis the conventional power producing technologies. The Bloom Energy Servers could be installed onsite at any operating premises or building and can be plugged into natural gas pipeline to generate uninterrupted, efficient, noise-less base load power round-the-clock.
GAIL’s subsidiary at Bengaluru is already supplying Natural Gas for energizing a multi-MW Bloom Energy project for a large global technology company at the Technology Park in Bangalore.
The unique tie-up seeks to leverage the strengths of both the organizations. Whilst GAIL brings a portfolio of Natural Gas to ensure reliable and competitively available Natural Gas for Bloom Energy projects along its integrated gas supply networks, Bloom Energy’s power systems run on advanced solid oxide fuel cell technology that are not just acknowledged as the most efficient producers of electricity based on Natural Gas but also combines the advantage of requiring a tenth of the space required for generating equivalent power through other modes. The MoU provides an alignment of a shared vision between GAIL and Bloom Energy and opens up an opportunity for Indian consumers to experience bundled and reliable service by the two leading brands for expanding the distributed power generation systems in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas (I/C) Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said “The signing of the MoU between Bloom Energy and GAIL is a significant step towards realizing the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of using technology and innovation for fast tracking India’s progress. The biggest beneficiary of this MoU will be urban India because it will significantly decrease pollution caused by back up power generation.”
Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog described the Bloom technology as “pathbreaking” which can bring a “transformational change” in electricity generation.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri B C Tripathi said, “GAIL and Bloom Energy have a tremendous opportunity to transform India’s energy future run on the combination of natural gas – cleanest and dependable fossil fuel and the state-of-the-art power technology of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell by Bloom Energy. This is in a unique positioning in the Indian market to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable power requiring minimal space and time to set-up. A perfect solution to India’s fast growing energy needs.”
Bloom Energy’s CEO and founder, Dr K R Sridhar, said “It is an honour to be here today and mark this occasion; we applaud the Hon’ble Minister of State Mr Dharmendra Pradhan and GAIL for taking a leadership role in driving towards a new energy future for India. This partnership brings us closer to realizing Bloom Energy’s mission to provide access to clean, reliable and affordable energy for India and the world.”
About GAIL
GAIL is India’s leading natural gas company with diversified interests across the natural gas value chain of trading, transmission, LPG production & transmission, petrochemicals, city gas, E&P etc. It operates a pipeline network of over 11,000 km with a capacity of about 210 million cubic meters per day. GAIL commands 75% market share in gas transmission and has a Gas trading share of over 50% in India. It also has a growing international presence through subsidiaries in the USA and Singapore.
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy is a provider of breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell technology generating clean, highly efficient onsite power from multiple fuel sources. Founded in 2001 with a mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world, Bloom Energy Servers are currently powering a “who’s who” list of electric utilities, government organizations and over 100 leading global companies including Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Walmart and FedEx in the United States. Bloom has received numerous recognitions in the field of distributed power generation including from the World Economic Forum, Time Magazine, 60 Minutes and most lately, Bloom has been named a top “disruptor” for the last two years in a row by CNBC. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with operations in Newark, Delaware, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Caption for Pic 1: (from left to right) Bloom Energy CEO, Dr K R Sridhar, Hon’ble Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, GAIL Chairman & Managing Director, Shri B C Tripathi and Additional Secretary, MoPNG Shri A P Sawhney after the signing of MoU between GAIL and Bloom Energy to deploy natural gas-based fuel cell technology to generate electricity.
Caption for Pic 2: Hon’ble Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas (I/C), Shri Dharmendra Pradhan (left) speaking after the signing of MoU between GAIL and Bloom Energy to deploy natural gas-based fuel cell technology to generate electricity. Also in the picture from (second left to right) are Bloom Energy CEO, Dr K R Sridhar, CEO of Niti Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant, GAIL Chairman & Managing Director, Shri B C Tripathi and Additional Secretary, MoPNG, Shri A P Sawhney.
Disclaimer: This communication is confidential and privileged and is directed to and for the use of the addressee only. The recipient, if not the addressee, should not use this message if erroneously received as access and use of this e-mail in any manner by anyone other than the addressee is unauthorized. The recipient acknowledges that GAIL (India) Limited may be unable to exercise control or ensure or guarantee the integrity of the text of this email message and the text is not warranted as to completeness and accuracy. Though GAIL (India) Limited has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail, however, it cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments.
