by Brianna Crandall — August 1, 2014—Although some sectors of the fuel cell industry, such as portable fuel cells, continue to struggle, stationary fuel cells have seen two years of strong growth, with an ongoing boom in prime power and residential combined heat and power (resCHP) fuel cell system shipments, according to a new white paper from Navigant Research. Navigant researchers forecast that the broader fuel cell industry will continue to struggle, but the stationary sector will continue to expand rapidly in the coming years.
“The stationary fuel cell sector represented more than 70 percent of global fuel cell revenue at the end of 2013, and there are already large new orders on the books for 2014,” says Lisa Jerram, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “Along with renewed attention to fuel cell vehicles, these developments are causing usually cautious investors to take a new look at the fuel sector.”
Combined heat and power (CHP) configurations have seen the most unit deployments in this nascent market, according to the report, while electric-only prime power applications have more capacity deployed. These trends reflect competing views about which of these markets will ultimately be the most attractive for fuel cells.
The white paper details ten key trends for the fuel cell market in 2013:
- Fuel cells are back on the radar of the U.S. media.
- The stationary sector continues to lead the fuel cell industry.
- Investors are cautiously coming off the fence on fuel cells.
- Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) continue to be compared to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs).
- Hydrogen infrastructure stakeholders must prove they can build stations.
- CHP is on a path to surpass prime power stationary fuel cells.
- Fuel cells face stiff competition from engine- or turbine-based CHP.
- The booming North American microgrid market offers opportunity for fuel cells.
- The power-to-gas concept will be proven in Europe.
- Portable fuel cells are still struggling to hit the right value proposition.
The white paper, “The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industries: 10 Trends to Watch“, presents the ten most notable and important trends for the next 12 months in the fuel cell and hydrogen industries, focusing on capacity and revenue generation, business model evolution, and the maturation of the key companies within the sector. A full copy of the white paper is available for free download on the Navigant Research Web site.
