Fuel Cell Market Will Escalate Rapidly in the Near Future

Global Fuel Cell market is expected to garner $8,643 Million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 17.36% during the period 2016 - 2022. In 2015, the proton exchange membrane fuel cells occupied two-fifths of the total share by volume.

Strict governmental regulations, increase in distributed power systems, and high efficiency of fuel cells are the major driving forces that will escalate the demand for fuel cells with applications in automation and power generation setups. Unlike conventional power generation sources, fuel cells do not emit hazardous gases and pollution that is harmful to the environment. Also, depletion of natural resources, carbon emissions, and rising cost of fossil fuels is paving the way for alternate means of transportation and power generation. Therefore, both public and private sectors have taken continuous efforts to reduce carbon emissions and save fuel. Strict government regulations related to CO2 & SO2 emissions is driving the fuel cell market. In addition, the Go Green revolution is also driving the growth of the market. Stringent government regulations related to carbon emissions are expected to propel the growth of the fuel cell market during the forecast period. Furthermore, stationary fuel cells can be used as a means of distributed power generation, which offers various advantages. Power is generated near the consumer area and so the loss of energy in transmission is extremely small in comparison with the losses seen in large and centralized generation systems.

Favorable regulations by the governing bodies in developed economies and eco-friendly objectives to eliminate emission rates propels the market demand for hydrogen power plants in the forecast period. Rising emphasis by governments in matured economies such as Europe and U.S and adoption to technological advancements to replace electric grids is more likely to foster the market growth in the estimated time span.

Using fuel cells can minimize the dependency on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, natural gas and petrochemical derivatives. Fuel cells employ electrochemical process for generation of energy and result in less combustion of fuels. Hybrid systems using conventional engines and fuel cells are deployed in most of electric vehicles.

The number of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) open to the public or fleets, worldwide, is increasing. The number of planned HRS over the short term, and till 2030, is also rising. Therefore, the rapid growth in HRS is expected to drive the demand for fuel cell vehicles, which is likely to further supplement the market growth during the forecast period.

Lack of fuel cell infrastructure coupled with high cost of the catalyst that is required for catalytic reactions in fuel cells are restraining the growth of the market. However, new technological advancement in the fuel cell technology leads to the development of new types of fuel cell such as Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), Polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) and others, which help in reducing the cost of the fuel cell.