Bloom Energy (BE) CL King's 22nd Annual Best Ideas Conference 2024 summary

Company overview and market positioning

• Founded 24 years ago, public since 2018, leading in solid oxide fuel cells with a mission for clean, reliable, affordable energy.

• Fuel cells are scalable, fuel-agnostic, and currently use mainly natural gas, with some units running on biogas and designed for hydrogen.

• Main competition is the grid; rapid deployment (as fast as 50 days) is a key advantage, especially for data centers and critical infrastructure.

• Growing demand for microgrid solutions as companies seek alternatives to grid instability and long interconnect timelines.

• U.S. is the largest growth market, with international opportunities in Korea, Germany, Italy, and other Asian regions.

Business model, contracts, and financial outlook

• Unique power contracts, such as with Silicon Valley Power, are being used as models for future utility partnerships.

• Service business margins have improved from negative to near breakeven, with a goal of reaching 20% margin by 2025.

• Installation business is expected to shrink as a percentage of revenue, with a focus on product and service growth; approach remains customer-dependent.

• All capital is currently reinvested to achieve positive operating cash flow, targeted for the second half of the year.

• Manufacturing capacity in Fremont, CA, can reach 1 GW and be doubled for under $50 million if needed.

Hydrogen and technology roadmap

• Two main products: Bloom servers (fuel cells) and electrolyzers; electrolyzer revenue is a longer-term opportunity.

• Fuel cells are currently powered by natural gas due to availability but are ready for hydrogen as the market evolves.

• Anticipates significant participation in the hydrogen economy over the next several years.