Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Fuel Cell Market 2011-2015" report to their offering.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the abundant energy sources and emerging applications. The Global Fuel Cell market has also been witnessing increased development of codes and standards. However, governmental budget cuts could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.
The key vendors dominating this market space are UTC Power LLC, FuelCell Energy Inc., Ballard Power Systems Inc., and Hydrogenics Corp.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from TechNavio's Clean Tech team said: ''A major trend in the Global Fuel Cell market is the engagement of governmental organizations in analyzing and developing codes and standards for stationary fuel cell technologies. One such organization is the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US, which developed standards and codes for the Global Fuel Cell market in September 2010. These codes and standards are instigated to ensure that products and processes meet identical requirements that pertain to performance and safety parameters. The NREL has developed codes for fuel cells such as molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMF), which are the most demanded fuel cells in the market.''
According to the report, one of the most important factors driving the Global Fuel Cell market is the fact that the energy sources used by stationary fuel cells are abundant in nature. For instance, one of the most frequently used fuels by stationary fuel cells is hydrogen. This is the lightest, most abundant chemical and the third most abundant element in the world. As stationary fuel cells are powered by hydrogen gas, the chance of running out of fuel is virtually impossible. Moreover, uninterruptable power supply, combined heat and power, and residential power are the emerging applications of the Global Fuel Cell industry, which is again boosting the Global Fuel Cell market.
Further, the report reveals that one of the major challenges confronting the market is governmental budget cuts.