Contact

Fuel Cell Market: Transport Sector Is Growing Rapidly

By

July 1, 2017

Image titel:

Sources:

Fuel Cell Market: Transport Sector Is Growing Rapidly

Capacity

Capacity shipped per year, by type of application from 2011 through 2016 (in MW)

In November 2016, E4tech published data and analyses on the fuel cell industry in its latest edition of Fuel Cell Industry Review. Since 2014, it has contacted businesses in the industry and aggregated their shipment figures to capture the most recent market developments. The following sections will present some excerpts from this review and explain the changes to the preliminary 2016 figures published last November.

In many respects, 2016 was a successful year for the fuel cell industry. The fuel cell capacity shipped worldwide added up to around 480 MW, a considerably higher number than the 300 MW of 2015. Much of the industry’s growth in recent years was a result of increasing production capacities and sales in the vehicle segment, which has – for the first time – climbed to the top spot on the ranking of the most important fuel cell markets of 2016. This trend will only get stronger in the coming years.

Advertisements

Hyundai’s ix35 is still in a good position and even Honda has entered …

As in previous years, the other driver in the transport segment was the lift truck for logistic centers. In early 2017, Plug Power announced that it had supplied 4,000 fuel cell systems for these forklifts. All in all, more than 10,000 fuel cell versions are now roaming the halls of logistic providers. A new entrant to the market is Nuvera Fuel Cells, meanwhile bought up by Hyster-Yale, which should help increase sales even further this year.

Advertisements

Other types of vehicles such as buses, trains and trucks weren’t that successful in making their mark on 2016’s shipment statistics, but the number of fuel cell buses is expected to grow considerably in 2017. The signs had already been there last year, in the unpublished production figures for fuel cell modules and stacks (we only count end products, meaning the vehicle including the module, not the module on its own). Taking a second look at those numbers, we expect China to become the biggest market for fuel cell bus technology, with at least 300 new buses in 2017 alone.

Where China leads, others follow?

The pressing issue of air quality and the country’s efforts due to the Paris Climate Agreement will continue to push the market forward for a long time to come. The establishment of a domestic fuel cell industry has been officially sanctioned by the government when it created a national strategy, with a roadmap extending to 2030. The example of the local electric car industry, however, also illustrates the difficulties of trying to create an entire market basically overnight. In early 2017, the government made abrupt changes to the incentives for battery-electric vehicles to prevent fraud and force out disreputable suppliers. The measure may have been necessary, but did make observers feel uneasy about China’s market development for a short while.

New avenues for stationary fuel cells?

Until a few years ago, the fuel cell market had been dominated by stationary applications. The preliminary November figures pointed to slight growth in the stationary segment, but after updating the 2016 figures, this growth seems to have evaporated. The big players on the large-scale system market (100 kilowatts to several megawatts) remain; they are FuelCell Energy, Bloom Energy, Doosan and Fuji Electric. Other manufacturers in this segment include Mitsubishi Hitachi, GE, LG and some less well-known businesses.

Going into 2017, the ENE-FARM program in Japan remained as one of the main pillars of the fuel cell market. It has supported the installation of 200,000 micro-CHP systems to date, even though the original target of 1.4 million by 2020 seems almost out of reach. One particularly intriguing development in 2016 was the strong growth in SOFC installations. They have gained a considerable foothold in the market and are second only to the already well-established PEM units by Panasonic and Toshiba.

In Germany, the Technology Rollout Program for fuel cell heaters was …

Micro-sized fuel cells far from a success story

Sales of portable fuel cells faced a severe decline in 2016 because of a drop in the number of small USB chargers for consumer electronics, typically with few watts of output. Most businesses have shut down or at least halted their activities. The only 2017 development worth mentioning I this segment seems to be myFC, which announced it would ship 1,000 units to China between 2017 and 2018. One portable technology still going strong, however, is UPS with units of, on average, 100 watts of capacity. Designed for various off-grid applications, they are sold by SFC Energy in particular.

Few changes to preliminary figures

The charts in this news article are based on the n…

You can download the entire report, including shipment numbers, data tables, analyses and comments, as a PDF at www.FuelCellIndustryReview.com

Authors: Franz Lehner, David Hart, both from E4tech, Lausanne, Switzerland

Here are interesting and current articles on the topic of hydrogen – stocks and the stock market!

Economic prospects for companies in the hydrogen sector | Future, stocks & hydrogen companies on the stock exchange and more…

Which hydrogen companies will prevail in the competitive market in the long term? Get tips and cartwheels and learn more about risks or opportunities. Our stock market specialist and expert author Sven Jösting reports critically, independently and competently.

Mar 18 2024

Search for the ideal hydrogen storage

Interview with Thomas Korn, CEO of water stuff & sun Startup company water stuff & sun has...
Mar 15 2024

Is exponential growth slowing down?

Fuel Cell Industry Review 2022 Year 2022 saw fuel cell shipments creep up over 2021 numbers,...
Mar 11 2024

On the way to becoming a green hydrogen partner

Oman aims to score points with H2 infrastructure Wind, sun and loads of expertise – these...
Mar 07 2024

We can master a scale-up for green hydrogen

Interview with Dr. Kai Fischer, Director at RWTH Aachen The efficient scaling of green hydrogen...
Mar 07 2024

Frustration over continuing uncertainties

Interview with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe There is a lot that needs sorting out...
Mar 05 2024

“If ever there was momentum for hydrogen, it is now”

Interview with Dr. Jochen Köckler, chairman of Deutsche Messe “We’re bringing people together.”...
Feb 28 2024

H2Direkt: Blueprint for heating with pure H2

The energy providers Thüga und Energie Südbayern (ESB) as well as Energienetze Bayern have...
Feb 26 2024

Just switch over?

Hydrogen in the existing natural gas network Whether hydrogen contributes to the clean heating...
Feb 26 2024

Pilot plant for coating bipolar plates

At Fraunhofer FEP (Fraunhofer-Institut für Organische Elektronik, Elektronenstrahl- und...
Feb 20 2024

55 MW electrolyzer to decarbonize Saarland

Hydrogen Regions series: HydroHub Fenne living lab The power plant site in Fenne, Völklingen, a...
Feb 20 2024

Chicken feathers as FC membrane material

Feathers from chickens or other poultry could in the future help make fuel cells more effective...
Feb 15 2024

SMEs demand more security

Guest article by André Steinau, CEO of GP Joule Hydrogen After all, the Ampel Coalition leading...
Feb 15 2024

Accelerated expansion of renewable energies

RED III is here – Elsewhere, the wait continues Progress is being made at EU level – albeit...
Feb 12 2024

Picea 2 relies on lithium instead of lead

HPS presents new product generation The company HPS Home Power Solutions has unveiled a new...
Feb 12 2024

H2 production by photocatalysis

The direct generation of hydrogen from sunlight has long been considered the most elegant solution...
Feb 05 2024

Regional instead of international

Hy-Fcell has it difficult asserting itself The aspiration of Landesmesse Stuttgart with Hy-Fcell...
Feb 01 2024

Hydrogeit Verlag turns 20 years old

Hydrogeit Verlag is proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary as a renowned specialist publisher in...
Jan 26 2024

Stracke other H2Now managing director

BMV Energy GmbH is entering the market as another player in hydrogen refueling stations. The...
Jan 26 2024

Starting points for a comprehensive hydrogen ramp-up

Industry congress GAT 2023 in Cologne To establish a functioning hydrogen economy, the entire...
Jan 26 2024

The industry highpoint in autumn

Hydrogen Technology Expo total success In autumn 2023 as well, the Hydrogen Technology Expo was...

0 Comments

Leave a Reply