If the high-tech development of a California-made fuel cell that produces electricity is a genuine clean-energy breakthrough, then American ingenuity will have reached several important new industrial mileposts.
First, it could mean a significant revival of U.S. technological innovation that has slipped away into the hands of China, Germany and other nations. China is now leaping ahead in solar power development.
Second, a fuel cell the size of a loaf of bread providing power for home and business would certainly reduce, though not eliminate, some of the heavy costs of producing and transmitting electricity.
Third, such a device would drastically reduce use of some fossil fuel products.
Fourth, air and water quality would benefit.
Finally, such power-producing technology might well lead to byproducts yet to be explored or even imagined.
Several major corporations—Wal-Mart, Google, FedEx, Coca Cola, Bank of America and Cox Enterprises—have ordered the cell boxes, in development by Bloom Energy for nearly a decade under the supervision of a space scientist.
Although the "box" won't be available for homes for several years, care must be taken meanwhile to prevent a promising new product from being smothered in the marketplace by other energy producers fearful of competition.
The "box" should be embraced for what it is—an industrial advancement whose benefits to society and industry can be adopted and shared, not dreaded.
