Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich., found a new way to make waffles. That’s because the Eggo bakery in San Jose, Calif., is now home to fuel cell technology, which generates enough clean, reliable energy to produce approximately half of the facility's annual electrical consumption. The system also uses less water to generate power than if it had been supplied by the utility grid.

"We're focused on introducing new processes and technology that minimize the environmental impact of our operations," says Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer. "This new solution is a win-win. We're maximizing our production while creating energy-efficient solutions for making waffles."

The fuel cell servers sit on-site to immediately meet the bakery's fluctuating energy demands. They work by converting natural gas into electricity using a reaction that is more efficient than combustion.

Also this year, the San Jose bakery began testing new types of energy-efficient waffle irons, which have helped achieve a 15% savings on electricity. Adding to the energy savings is that the design of these new grids allows the production of 12% more waffles per cycle.