Bloom Energy licenses Modine fuel cell tech

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Bloom Energy signed a $12 million licensing agreement for the fuel cell technology of Racine, Wis.-based Modine Manufacturing (NYSE: MOD).

The multimillion dollar agreement of Oct. 7 is expected to help Bloom produce thermal management systems based on proprietary technology from Modine’s fuel cell portfolio.

Bloom is backed by Silicon Valley's Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Modine also agreed to provide other products and services through December 2009. The two companies say they expect to collaborate on other projects involving fuel cell-based stationary power.

Modine’s Fuel Cell Products Group has been developing advanced thermal management solutions for fuel cell systems since 2000. In May, Modine announced it would supply the humidification and water management components for the Touran HyMotion, Volkwagen’s fuel cell hybrid vehicle.

Startup Bloom, meanwhile, has hinted that it might have a commercial product available within the next couple years. Researchers at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga have been testing a five-kilowatt energy generator known as the Bloom box, a machine that can produce enough electricity to power a typical home using either natural gas or liquid fuel, for the past two years.

The results indicate the Bloom box fueled by natural gas is twice as efficient and produces 60 percent fewer carbon emissions as a boiler running on natural gas.