Accepting the challenge from Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Bloom Energy (BE -3.17%) will contribute to the growing effort to meet demand for ventilators by refurbishing old ventilators, which the state has in storage. The lack of ventilators has been a major source of concern for medical professionals throughout the COVID-19 outbreak since many patients who test positive for the novel coronavirus eventually need ventilators to help them breathe.
During a news conference on Sunday, Gov. Newsom stated that he told KR Sridhar, Bloom Energy's founder and CEO, that the manufacturer of the old ventilators estimated the time to repurpose about 200 of them would be a month. He, then, dropped the gauntlet, telling Kridhar, "We want you to do more and do better." Wasting no time, Bloom Energy got to work. Yesterday, Sridhar sent a picture to Gov. Newsom that showed 24 ventilators, which the company had repurposed in merely a few hours. Upon the state's approval that the refurbished ventilators would acceptable, Sridhar said that he will accept additional ventilators from the state which need repurposing.
Image source: Getty Images.
California is one of the states which has been most greatly affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. On Mar. 19, Gov. Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order, and according to its most recent numbers, California has reported 1,468 positive cases of the novel coronavirus and 27 deaths.
Bloom Energy is not alone in expressing interest in supporting the medical community as it battles against the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, tweeted, "We will make ventilators if there is a shortage."
