Stealth start-up Bloom Energy on Feb. 24 publicly unveiled an innovative fuel cell that promises to deliver affordable, clean energy to even remote corners of the world.

Compact Bloom Servers built with energy cells made from silicon -- a plentiful element found in sand -- made their formal debut in an eBay building partially powered by the energy source.

"Bloom fuel cell technology has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry," California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said while introducing Bloom founder K.R. Sridhar. "He is someone shaping the future of energy not just for California but for the world.

A high-powered audience gathered for the event included Google co-founder Larry Page, eBay chief executive John Donahoe and former U.S. secretaries of state George Shultz and Colin Powell.

"The core of our technology simply is sand," Sridhar said pulling a black cloth off a clear glass container of sand and then holding up a greeting-card sized cell made from the material. "It is available in plenty... and it has the scientific property that enabled us to make a fuel cell."

Fuel cell technology dates back to the mid 1800s, but Bloom eliminated the need for expensive metals such as platinum. Bloom servers work with a variety of fuels, meaning users can freely switch to whatever is locally available or most affordable, according to Sridhar.

"Basically, if it has a hydrogen or a carbon in it, or both, the cell is capable of using it as fuel," Bloom marketing vice president Stu Aaron said. "We have run it in the lab on vodka, although we don't recommend that. There are better uses for vodka."

The fuel cells use electrochemical reactions instead of combustion. Liquid or gas fuels go into the cell and electricity comes out, according to Aaron. Fuel and air pass over opposite sides of cells, which trigger oxygen ions to combine with the fuel to produce electricity, heat, water and an oxide based on the chemicals in the mix.

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