It’s rare that the launch of a new product feels like a red carpet event, especially when that product is another source of clean energy.

But people are truly excited about the Bloom Box – a power source that is inexpensive, clean, and completely emission-free.  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Powell attended the product’s launch as well as top executives from Google, eBay, Wal-Mart, FedEx, and Coca-Cola.

With the Bloom Box, consumers will be able to generate their own electricity wirelessly.  The Box is hoping to replace big power plants and transmission line grids the same way laptops are alternatives to desktops and cell phones to landlines.

Bloom Boxes run on fuel cell technology, which uses a series of self-sustaining chemical reactions to convert just about any fuel into electricity. The cells themselves are made of common beach sand that is baked and then coated with special inks. Right now one fuel cell can power a lightbulb. To generate more electricity, the Bloom Box stacks fuel cells into small blocks and houses them in a unit about the size of refrigerator.

Five Bloom Boxes were installed on eBay’s campus nine months ago.  The boxes contribute to 15 percent of the power on campus and have saved the company more than $100,000 in electricity costs.

Check out this 60 Minutes special report:

Filed under: e-News