The four years I spent pursuing an engineering degree in India taught me what a lack of access to energy can do to socio-economic productivity.
My university was located in a region that experienced significant power issues. Each summer, for approximately three months, our access to power and water was limited to just 3-4 hours per day.
While we were not living in poverty, the lack of energy access in those months significantly impacted our way of life and our productivity.
I vividly remember how we would huddle in our computer lab to finish homework as it was the only building on campus that had a diesel backup generator. Traveling around India during my time there further exposed me to other regions where the lack of energy access was even worse.
What baffled me the most was that something invented over 100 years ago – electricity – still wasn’t available in a reliable and consistent manner to almost a quarter of the world’s population.
I saw this as a major problem that was continuing to get worse as population growth, increasing digitization, and automation started putting huge demands on energy.
I fundamentally believe that everyone must have universal access to energy – it’s a basic human right! I came to the realization that in order to achieve universal access to reliable and consistent energy, the entire energy landscape needed to be “democratized”.
It needed to shift from being centralized to a more distributed system. We have seen this before – computer and telephone access skyrocketed when those industries went from centralized to distributed – mainframes to laptops, and landlines to cellphones.
It was Bloom’s ambitious mission and unique energy platform that drew me to the company. “To make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world” aligns perfectly with the impact I want to have, and most importantly, I believe Bloom can actually deliver on that mission in my lifetime.
Bloom’s energy platform generates clean and reliable power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our innovative technology addresses both the causes and consequences of climate change, solving the global challenge of securing resilient energy without compromising sustainability.
Today we serve largely commercial and industrial companies, but our rapidly declining cost trajectory along with continuous innovation on our technology platform and go-to-market solutions give me optimism that Bloom’s platform can become ubiquitous.
I have been at Bloom for the past 9 years and, in addition to the mission, the biggest reason why I’m here is my colleagues. Solving access to energy and climate change is hard. Tackling such hard problems brings out the best in us and instills a strong culture of innovation and camaraderie.
We have come a long way since we delivered our first energy solution in 2008. We have not only built a one-of-a-kind technology, but an ecosystem to deliver energy solutions in creative ways. I am even more excited for our years ahead because I believe our best is yet to come.
Working at such a remarkable company, alongside such intelligent and passionate people, I’m confident that we will solve one of the most challenging, yet most important problems of our generation.
With Bloom, I believe the future of energy is bright, and access to electricity for all is on the horizon.
To learn more about Bloom, its mission, or its people, check out our LinkedIn Life page.
