NEWARK, DELAWARE – Bloom Energy hosted employees, company executives and a distinguished list of stakeholders at its Newark, Delaware manufacturing center to mark its first decade as a leading Delaware employer and community member on October 10. The delegation of invited guests included Sen. Tom Carper, U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and institutional and community partners, including Major General Michael Berry, Dr. Mark Brainard, President, DTCC, and Dr. Dennis Assanis, President, University of Delaware.
“Twenty-two years ago I started the company with a vision of energy abundance,” Bloom’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, KR Sridhar, told guests at the anniversary event. “It started with a vision where sustainability, energy abundance, energy affordability, energy availability, and energy security don’t have to be in conflict. They can all be together. It’s about creating the energy of the future with which our children and grandchildren can have a better life.”
The event was held at the Bloom Manufacturing Center Delaware. In the past decade, the company has transformed a vacant lot that had housed a car manufacturer into a hub for the energy technology of the future. Today, nearly 800 full-time employees help the company produce Energy Servers® for customers across the U.S. and around the world. The production capabilities of the facility have grown to 60 Energy Servers a day, from two a day.
Said Sen. Carper: “We only have one planet, there’s no ‘Planet B.’ This is the only planet we’re going to have. We’re going to protect it and make sure it’s going to be here for generations to come. Bloom is a big part of that.”
“Today is really a celebration about what you’re doing for us as a state,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “While we celebrate the innovation, the entrepreneurial spirit, manufacturing and the great jobs that have come to our state, we also celebrate the people who work here.”
Powering Progress at University of Delaware
Bloom Energy was the first company to invest and move to University of Delaware’s Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus located in Newark. Expanding on their existing partnership, University of Delaware and Bloom Energy have entered into an MOU that will focus on research development and student and faculty engagement.
A highlight of the event was the ribbon cutting ceremony naming the Bloom Manufacturing Center Delaware Training Center after Major General Carol A. Timmons Retired Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard, and a special recognition of the employees who have been a part of the Bloom story in Delaware for more than 10 years.
“Our approach was to build on Delaware’s reputation for being nimble and flexible,” said Barry Sharpe, vice president manufacturing, who has overseen the development and operation of the Newark facility since its beginning. “KR told me at the beginning I had three jobs: create the factory of the 21st century, create the workforce of the 21st century and become an integral part of the Delaware community. We have repeated those three objectives consistently over the years and it has helped us stay true to our mission.”
Demand for the Bloom Electrolyzer®, which is also assembled in Delaware, has been growing. The Bloom Electrolyzer has been chosen for transformative green hydrogen projects in the United States and Canada. Last fall, Sen. Tom Carper inaugurated an expansion of the electrolyzer production line, which enabled Bloom to have one gigawatt (1GW) of new production capacity. According to an independent analysis, Bloom now has the biggest electrolyzer manufacturing capacity in the world with two gigawatts (2GW) of expansion potential, double that of its closest rival.
“From this factory came 25,000 power modules, each one as a power station that’s been built over the last ten years right here,” said Sridhar. “We are here for today. We are here for the future.”
Total economic impact to the state from the Bloom operations has exceeded $300 million. The company also has a broad program of community investment and support for training, education and local social programs.
Training a Clean Tech Workforce
The BMCD Training Center is at the heart of the effort to Build the 21st Century Workforce in Delaware. During General Carol A. Timmons tenure as Adjutant General in Delaware, she supported our continued efforts to recruit, hire and train members of the Delaware National Guard to work at Bloom and played a significant role in supporting Bloom Energy‘s Women’s Leadership Network.
It is without question that our institutional partnership with the Delaware National Guard and General Carol A. Timmons has allowed Bloom to grow and play a key in driving Delaware’s economic transformation. This partnership supported Bloom’s growth to become a high-tech manufacturing hub since locating in the state a decade ago. We are grateful for the trust and confidence the state of Delaware has shown in Bloom and our ability, over the past decade, to become a leader in high-tech manufacturing.
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