This California company is refurbishing ventilators for coronavirus patients

Susan Brennan, Bloom Energy's Chief Operating Officer, joins Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith to discuss ventilator production and how the green energy company is working with the state of California to combat the coronavirus crisis.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: The nation is facing a shortage of ventilators, and we heard Dr. Gershon talking about it earlier in the show. We've also heard from Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and other governors nationwide repeatedly calling for more ventilators. Well, a Silicon Valley company, Bloom Energy, they're stepping up to the plate, and they're now helping to refurbish old ventilators. California Governor Gavin Newsom, he visited Bloom Energy over the weekend. Let's hear what he had to say

GAVIN NEWSOM: And that's why we're here today at Bloom in a repurposed site that was storage just a few days ago and now is a manufacturing facility to address the issue of ventilation and ventilators, rather, for our state and increasingly, its capacity for the rest of the nation.

SEANA SMITH: Here to talk more about that, we have Susan Brennan, Bloom's chief operating officer. And Susan, thanks so much for taking the time. I know you are extremely busy right now, so we really appreciate it. I know you are leading the charge here for Bloom Energy, just in terms of Bloom's efforts to refurbish ventilators. Before a couple of weeks ago, your company had never done this. So let's first start off with how was Bloom able to step up to the plate so quickly and assist in this effort?

SUSAN BRENNAN: Well, first, thank you for hosting us. The opportunity for Bloom was very strong because we build a very technically complex product. So as you said, a few weeks ago, we-- this is not something we would ever had considered doing. However, when you look at what the basics are-- batteries, valves-- you know, kind of the physics in a ventilator are similar to part of what we do in our fuel cell.

So between the technology side, as well as we have a very strong bench of very competent engineers, and many of us have been in automotive or aerospace before coming to Bloom. And we were able to take those skills, as well as the experience we have, and apply it to really fill the gap.

There are warehouses with ventilators from prior preparation. So they need batteries charged. They need oxygen calibrated. They need to make sure that the parts are functional. So that's something that we can add value so that when a ventilator goes to a hospital or goes to the place of need, it is ready to go out of the box.

SEANA SMITH: And Susan, from my understanding, you're teaming up with other companies. So in terms of receiving the ventilators and then getting them back out to the hospitals, how-- logistically, how is that working at this point?

SUSAN BRENNAN: Yeah, so we've been extremely fortunate. We have partnered both with the state of California as well as the state of Delaware and other partners. So what we do is we do not distribute these to the hospitals. We take them from the state or federal stockpiles. We do, as I said, charge the batteries, make them functional. We want them to be suitable for use. And once we do that, then the state to date has come to pick them back up, and then they distribute them as the need is fit.

SEANA SMITH: Susan, you mentioned the background of some of your employees. You actually spent 25 years in the auto industry. So how did you draw from your experience there, just in terms of considering the task at hand and helping you navigate this type of challenge?

SUSAN BRENNAN: Yes, I have deep automotive experience. And when you build cars and you build cars at the speed that automotive assembly lines run at, you're constantly launching new product and making engineering changes. And this is very similar to what you would do in a car factory is you get a problem, you put together a small team, come up with a solution, lay out the line, and get it done.

SEANA SMITH: And just in terms of the number of ventilators that you're able to refurbish each day or each week, where does that stand at this point?

SUSAN BRENNAN: So we have sent over 300 back to the state of California. There are ventilators coming in daily. So just-- I want to make sure that your viewers are aware, if they go to our Bloom Energy website, we have both an email listed, as well as an 800 number. If there is a hospital or an agency out there that has a stockpile that needs to be-- it's either passed warranty or just needs to be refurbished, they can go through that. We'll organize the pickup, and we have organized a relationship on the east coast with a transportation company, Almo, that will pick up that those ventilators and take them to our Delaware facility. And we will-- we're also working with other transportation providers on the west coast.

So far, everything has come through the states, so all that transportation has been managed by the California state emergency response system. But if we are able to branch out and get into hospitals and other locations, we'll work with those and facilitate transportation.

SEANA SMITH: Susan Brennan, Bloom Energy's chief operating officer, thanks so much for joining us, and thanks so much to you and your team for all you are doing at this time. We really appreciate it.

SUSAN BRENNAN: Thank you, and stay safe.

SEANA SMITH: Thank you.