A new white paper from Pike Research identifies 10 key trends that are having an influence on the development of the worldwide fuel cell market.
“Fuel cells are finding a place in an increasing number of commercial applications, and 2011 is shaping up to be a big year in terms of market development,” Research Director Kerry-Ann Adamson said. “Industry consolidation is a trend that has been long anticipated, but will only accelerate during the course of the year. In addition, new issues have sprung out of nowhere in the past year such as concerns over supply of rare earth metals.”
Adamson said the issue of government intervention versus the free market will continue to simmer as different countries’ economic policies diverge on matters of fuel cell development. And new markets for fuel cells are continuing to come to the fore as the economics of adoption, both direct and indirect, continue to be tipped in favor of the technology.
Key fuel cell trends being is watched include:
- The reemergence of private equity firms in the fuel cell market.
- The continuing growth and deployment of fuel cell vehicles.
- The rising influence of Japan and Korea in the global fuel cell industry.
- The emergence of hydrogen as an energy storage medium.
- Rare earth restrictions as an obstacle to fuel cell adoption.
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a key market for micro fuel cells.
