Bloom Energy, a Sunnyvale-based company that usually works on renewable energy solutions and related technologies, is refurbishing 170 medical ventilators, and is among many businesses partnering with the state to assist Californians as COVID-19 continues to spread.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the ventilators being refurbished are from the federal stockpile and were not working. They recently came to the Sunnyvale facility, where Bloom Energy transformed its production site into one that refurbishes ventilators. They were expected to be loaded for shipment back to the Los Angeles area on Monday.
“Across our state, companies big and small are stepping up to meet this moment, and assist our efforts to respond to this crisis,” Newsom said in a release. “California has always been a leader in innovation, and to see this innovation and these incredible resources being used to ensure the people on the front lines of COVID-19 have the resources they need to save lives embodies California’s giving spirit.”
Newsom, along with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, toured the Bloom facility on Saturday.
At the onset of the pandemic, California had approximately 7,500 ventilators across its hospital systems. The state set a goal of adding an additional 10,000 ventilators; as of Saturday, the state has added 4,252 ventilators, approximately 1,000 of which needed to be refurbished.
Bloom is one of more than 350 businesses and manufacturers in California that offered to re-tool their facilities to make medical supplies and essential products during the coronavirus crisis. Others include The Gap and St. John Knits making masks, gowns and scrubs for hospital workers, and Anheuser-Busch and other distilleries adapting to produce hand sanitizer.