Hydrogen Fuels - Global Market Size, Technology Road-Map, Regulations, Competitive Landscape and Pricing Analysis to 2020

Additional Information

GlobalData’s “Hydrogen Fuels - Global Market Size, Technology Road-Map, Regulations, Competitive Landscape and Pricing Analysis to 2020” report gives an in-depth analysis of the global, the US and the UK , Canada, Germany, Japan and Republic of Korea hydrogen fuel cell markets. It provides a deep understanding of key drivers impacting the market and key restraints in the market. It gives fuel cell vehicle forecasts to 2020 for the global market and for the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Norway, Japan and Republic of Korea markets. It provides analysis of key players in the market and market shares is also provided.

Fuel Cells - Higher Efficiency and Almost Zero Emissions

A fuel cell is a zero-emission source of power, and the only byproduct is water. Some fuel cells use natural gas or hydrocarbons as fuel but even those produce far less emissions than conventional sources. As a result, they eliminate or at least vastly reduce the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, and since they are also quiet in operation they can reduce noise pollution.

Fuel cells are more efficient than combustion engines as they generate electricity electrochemically and not by burning fossil fuels. Since they can produce electricity onsite, the waste heat produced can also be used for heating purposes. Most of the fuel cells today operate at a 40-60% fuel-to-electricity efficiency. Additionally, when used in combination with turbine fuel cells, they can operate at more than 60% fuel efficiency. For co-generation purposes the efficiency of fuel cells can exceed 85%.

High Costs Hindering the Growth of the Industry

Fuel cell is a new technology, which is competing with conventional and other cheaper technologies. The technology is still evolving so economies of scale are not yet present. As well as this, most of the fuel cell technologies use precious metals such as platinum as their catalysts, which increases the cost of the design. In order to be competitive, fuel cell technology developers need to search for an effective but less expensive option. Long-term demand for metals is expected to continue rising, mainly due to the increase in demand from countries such as India and China. This high demand for metals is likely to cause metal prices to rise in the long term, which, in turn, will increase the prices of the fuel cell. The use of expensive metals and the lack of economies of scale make the initial costs for fuel systems very high, causing potential customers to opt for other options.

Fuel Cell Vehicles are still in the Concept and Testing Phase

Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs), deployed across the world under various hydrogen and fuel cell development programs, are being tested by automobile manufacturers for efficiency and other parameters in real-time conditions. The US states, especially California, are leading in the number of FCVs that are deployed on their roads. In the US, the major FCV companies include Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Nissan.

Germany also has a number of fuel cell Light Duty Vehicles (LDVs) and fuel cell buses deployed as part of the FCV development programs such as the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) among others.

The figure below shows the percentage shares of major automobile manufacturers in the US LDV Market in 2010.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Market, Global, Cumulative Number of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles, Units, 2010, 2015, 2020

Source: GlobalData

Fuel Cell Vehicles Expected Commercialization is after 2015

The commercialization of FCVs is expected to happen after 2015. Large scale deployments of FCVs can be expected to happen once this technology is commercialized. Automobile manufacturers such as Hyundai are planning to start producing 500 units as early as 2012 and move it up to 10,000 units annually by 2015.

The US, Germany and Japan are the Key Countries for the Industry

The US, Germany and Japan are the major regions for fuel cell Research & Development (R&D) across the globe. These nations are home to some of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers and leading research organizations. They have a number of programs for the development and deployment of FCVs in partnership with the government, research organizations and the automobile industry.