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Fuel cells are positioned to re-shape power generation as we know it and are poised to become the power system of choice across multiple market applications in the near future.
A fuel cell is an established and simple technology that generates electricity by reacting hydrogen and oxygen together electrochemically (as opposed to combusting) to produce electricity, water, and heat. It has no moving parts, minimal noise or vibration, no emissions, does not require fossil fuel, is totally scalable from 0.1kW-10,000kW, and has greater fuel-to-energy efficiency than any other generating technology. (Around 50-60%, or up to 70-80% with co-generation, as opposed to 15-25% for the Internal Combustion Engine and 25-35% for gas turbines.)
The market opportunities are vast.
The energy industry is a US $2 trillion+ global market, three times that of the telecom industry, and touches almost every consumer and business in the world. The opportunity for fuel cells overlaps the power, oil, automotive and consumer industries - all huge markets with sales of US $250bn+. The scalability of the technology means that fuel cells are a superior substitute product for any form of power generation from batteries for mobile phones/laptops (0.1kW) to internal combustion engines for cars/buses/boats (75-250kW) to grid power for residential homes and office blocks (1-10,000kW). These end-markets are substantial, growing, and undergoing a major technological transition.
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