(Photo: AFC Energy’s 240-kW KORE system installation in Germany. Credit: AFC Energy)
The European fuel cell market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of more than 70% during the period 2015 to 2027, according to a new report from Market Research Future.
Increasing government initiatives and motivation under a new renewable heat incentive policy are the key drivers in Europe, which the report calls one of the fastest growing regions in the fuel cell technology market. This analysis extends fuel cell market research the firm has conducted over the past several years.
The report, Fuel Cell Technology Market Research Report – Global Forecast to 2024, looks at the fuel cell market by fuel type, method, application, and geographic region. Fuel types are hydrogen, methanol, and methane. The applications are divided into stationary, transportation, portable electronics, and others.
Methods cover polymer/proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), alkaline fuel cells (AFC), direct carbon fuel cells (DCFC), zinc air fuel cells (ZAFC), protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFC), microbial fuel cells (MFC), and others.
The European Commission’s low-carbon economy roadmap suggests that by 2050, the EU should cut greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels. Milestones to get there are ambitious 40% emissions cuts by 2030, and 60% cuts by 2040. To achieve the target, Europe plans to improve infrastructure and reduce the cost of the fuel cells, Market Research Future’s report says.
European companies manufacturing fuel cells for different applications mentioned in the Market Research Future report include AFC Energy in the UK, Heliocentris Energy Solutions in Germany, Haldor Topsoe in Denmark, and Genport in Italy.
“Germany accounts for more than 70% fuel cell installations in Europe due to huge government support,” the report says. “Some major market players include Siemens, Opel, and Daimler Chrysler.” Globally, other market players mentioned in the report include Ceres Power Holdings, SFC Energy, and Nedstack.
The report says that the major growth drivers of the global fuel cell technology market include increasing public-private relationships, the rising price of crude oil, and increasing demand for fuel cells from power suppliers, the automobile industry, residential builders, and electronic companies.
A separate recent report from Research and Markets estimated that the global fuel cells market will grow at a CAGR of 28.21%, going from $3.114 billion last year to $13.83 billion in 2023. Europe and North America hold the largest share in the global market, that report said.
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