This Round G brings the VC total for Bloom to approximately $800M on a reported valuation of $2.7 billion, a figure which brings it near the 'Solyndra line' of VC totals. At a certain point, the necessity of having to raise more VC becomes looks more like a liability and an indication that something is wrong with a business model.
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It's difficult to believe that Bloom is anywhere close to being profitable despite the plundering of the
Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) they enjoyed. Bloom also sells its fuel cells as a service --
a fuel cell PPA, as it were -- to take some of the pain out of the initial investment.
Bloom does have a stellar list of high-profile customers, including Apple, Adobe, and Google.
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Jeff St. John recently posed the question, can Bloom’s fuel cells compete with the natural gas-fired power plants that now serve the grid?
That’s a complex question, involving differences in cost per watt (gas turbines are still cheaper); the cleanliness of emissions (Bloom’s fuel cells are arguably cleaner, though they still emit CO2); the potential to capture waste heat for extra benefit (Bloom’s fuel cells don’t, while other gas-fired systems do); and the extra-complex question of whether or not Bloom’s natural gas-fueled devices are truly a “green” energy source.
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So far, Bloom has been able to ship its product into subsidy-rich regions. The big question is if Bloom can survive when those subsidies recede.
