The chemical industry is at the center of modern life. From fertilizers that feed the world to materials used in healthcare, construction, and consumer goods, chemicals are indispensable.
Producing them is also one of the most energy-intensive and carbon-heavy industrial activities on the planet. With approximately 925 megatonnes of carbon emissions each year—more than the country of India—the industry faces urgent pressure to decarbonize.
Bloom Energy is meeting this challenge with innovative, future-ready solutions that deliver clean, reliable onsite power while helping chemical manufacturers to cut emissions, reduce downtime, and accelerate progress toward sustainability goals.
Powering One Of The World’s Most Demanding Industries
Chemical plants operate 24-7. Their processes are delicate, safety-critical, and highly dependent on uninterrupted electricity. Even a short disruption can cause unplanned downtime, risking both worker safety and production output. For manufacturers, those outages are costly—ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 per hour, and adding up to as much as $50 billion annually across the industrial sector.
Bloom Energy Servers provide unmatched reliability, delivering up to 99.999% uptime. By generating power directly onsite through modular microgrids, chemical manufacturers can insulate their operations from grid instability, extreme weather, or other disruptions. This ensures that critical processes continue uninterrupted, while minimizing risks to employees and equipment.
Reducing Emissions With Fuel Cell Technology
While reliability is paramount, sustainability is also an increasingly urgent priority. To align with global climate targets, the chemical industry must reduce its emissions by around 60% by 2030. That’s a daunting challenge, especially given the energy demands of processes like ammonia production, which is vital for fertilizer, and global food security.
Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology offers a cleaner path forward. Unlike combustion-based power generation, Bloom Servers convert fuels such as natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical process. This results in low or zero carbon emissions and eliminates harmful particulates that affect local air quality.
Even more promising is Bloom’s hydrogen innovation. The Bloom Electrolyzer uses high-temperature electrolysis—leveraging the heat from chemical processes to make hydrogen production more efficient. Hydrogen can then be used as a clean feedstock or energy source for chemical manufacturing, making it a powerful tool in the industry’s decarbonization journey.
Microgrids Built For Flexibility And Resilience
Bloom’s modular platform is designed to grow with chemical plants as their energy needs evolve. Whether a site requires a few hundred kilowatts or multiple megawatts, Bloom Servers can be scaled and configured for precise requirements.
These microgrids operate independently from the grid, protecting facilities against outages, voltage fluctuations, and harmonics that can compromise operations. Their redundant design means there is no single point of failure, and maintenance can be performed without downtime—a critical advantage for manufacturers who cannot afford interruptions.
Supporting ESG And Cost Predictability
Chemical manufacturers face mounting pressure from regulators, investors, and customers to demonstrate progress on ESG goals. Bloom’s technology helps it achieve real reductions in emissions while also delivering water savings and predictable energy costs.
Traditional thermoelectric power plants consume massive amounts of water, but Bloom Servers require almost none beyond start-up. That’s a meaningful advantage in water-stressed regions where many chemical facilities operate.
Fixed operations and maintenance costs further provide budget stability over the life of the system, easing financial planning for long-term sustainability investments.
Path To A Cleaner Future
At the 2023 World Chemical Forum, Bloom Energy executive Rick Beuttel emphasized that innovation is essential to decarbonize this sector. With advanced fuel-flexible platforms, Bloom empowers chemical manufacturers to meet rising demand while cutting carbon emissions and safeguarding operational reliability.
The chemical industry is vital to modern society—and with Bloom Energy, it doesn’t have to come at the expense of the planet. Cleaner, more reliable, and more efficient power is here, and it’s helping chemical manufacturers to shape a sustainable future.
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