Abstract
STUDY GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
This study focuses on fuel cell systems, hydrogen energy producers and
enabling nanotechnology. The study provides market data about the size and
growth of application segments, industry trends, new developments, including a
detailed patent analysis, and company profiles. Another goal of this report is
to provide a detailed and comprehensive multi-client study of the market in
North America, Europe, Japan, China, India, Korea and the rest of the world
for fuel cells, hydrogen energy and related nanotechnology, and potential
growth opportunities in the future.
The objectives include a thorough coverage of the underlying economic issues
driving the fuel cell and hydrogen energy industries, as well as assessments
of improved fuel cell materials that are being developed. Another important
objective is to provide realistic market data and forecasts for fuel cells,
hydrogen energy and related nanotechnology. This study provides the most
thorough and up-to-date assessment that can be found anywhere on this subject.
The study also provides extensive quantification of the many important facets
of market developments in fuel cell systems and hydrogen energy use all over
the world. This, in turn, contributes to the determination of what kind of
strategic response companies may adopt in order to compete in this dynamic
market.
The goal of the study was to determine the current and future financial and
technological state of the fuel cell and hydrogen energy industries and the
influence of related nanotechnologies. One of the objectives was to determine
how many organizations in each nation were involved in what type of fuel cells
or hydrogen energy technology. The study provides a review of the activities
of more than 3,800 organizations developing fuel cells, hydrogen energy and
related nanotechnology.
SCOPE AND FORMAT
“Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Energy and Related Nanotechnology” examines
proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), their state of development,
their costs, the markets for the fuel cells and the markets for
nanotechnologies for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
This study also focuses on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), their state of
development, their costs, the markets for the fuel cells, nanotechnologies for
this type of fuel cell and the market for nanotechnologies for direct methanol
fuel cells.
This report details solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), their state of
development, their costs, the markets for the fuel cells and for
nanotechnologies for solid oxide fuel cells. Phosphoric acid fuel cells
(PAFCs) and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), their manufacturers and the
state of the art of those technologies, as well as their markets, are also
studied in detail.
Also examined are hydrogen production, purification and storage technologies
associated with fuel cells, the state of development, the costs, and the
markets by hydrogen production and storage. The report also examines
nanotechnology for hydrogen production and storage as well as the market for
nanotechnology for hydrogen production and storage.
The materials, manufacturing methods and machinery used in producing
nano-materials for fuel cells as well as hydrogen production and storage are
reported on in great detail, as well as their application to each of the
various fuel cell chemistries.
Tables ordered by nation offer a brief look at the activities of each of the
3,800 organizations in the report. The activities of all major industrial
nations are reviewed.
The report also looks at the production, availability and costs of key raw
materials for each of the fuel cell chemistries. Profiles of more than 800 of
the 3,800 companies and organizations are offered in a companion directory
entitled “Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Energy and Related Nanotechnology
Directory.”
METHODOLOGY
The research methodology was qualitative in nature and employed a
triangulative approach, which aids validity. Initially, a comprehensive and
exhaustive search of the literature on fuel cells, hydrogen and related
nanotechnology was conducted. These secondary sources included journals and
related books, trade literature, marketing literature, other
product/promotional literature, annual reports, government reports, and other
publications. A patent search and analysis was also conducted.
In a second phase, semi-structured fact-finding email correspondence was
conducted with marketing executives, product sales engineers, international
sales managers, application engineers, and other personnel of fuel cell,
hydrogen producer and nanotechnology companies. Other sources included
corporate and government conference presentations published by organizations
in the U.S. and Europe and Asia. Information was also garnered from academics,
technology suppliers, technical experts, trade association officials,
government officials, and consulting companies. These were a rich source of
data. Subsequent analysis of the documents and interview notes was iterative.
The final process included techniques such as preliminary research, fill-gap
research, historical analysis of end-user markets and supply chain/raw
materials, data consolidation, cross linking, variance determination
projections, variance factorization and confirmatory primary research.
INFORMATION SOURCES
Initially, a comprehensive and exhaustive search of the literature on fuel
cells, hydrogen as an energy source, and related nanotechnology was conducted.
Sources included the latest press releases on company Websites, including
application news, company news, marketing news, product news, brochures,
product literature, and fuel cell and hydrogen magazines, and technical
journals, as well as technical books, marketing literature, other promotional
literature, annual reports, security analyst reports, and other business
publications from fuel cell, hydrogen production and nanotechnology industries.
For this report, there exists little market data in the available literature
that analyzes the fuel cell industry as a whole industry. Even with the data
that do exist, for the most part, the challenge was to identify the fuel cell
market and its use of hydrogen as a fuel accurately, and evaluate how it fits
in areas such portable power where fuel cells compete against batteries, or
stationary power where fuel cells compete against the power grid, and in
vehicle markets where fuel cells provide motive power for buses, cars and
materials handling vehicles and hydrogen, as a fuel competes with gasoline,
diesel, coal, natural gas and battery power. Government research spending for
fuel cells and hydrogen as an energy source accounts for nearly half the
spending in the $8.4 billion a year industry.
The second phase involved formal and informal telephone interviews/email
correspondence with personnel in the fuel cell industry as well as hydrogen
producers and nanotechnology companies. Suppliers, design engineers,
consulting companies, other technical experts, government officials, and trade
association officials were also interviewed, as well as the personnel using
fuel cells powered by hydrogen.
By employing these information sources and using various forms of primary
information gathering techniques, all results could be cross-correlated and
tested for reasonableness. In addition, the thorough and appropriate use of
statistical analysis techniques insured that the conclusions drawn from this
report accurately represent the surveyed markets. The author of this report
believes that this combination of thorough and detailed data gathering,
together with the use of sophisticated statistical analysis, has yielded a
high degree of accuracy.
Other sources of information include United Nations, U.S., European, Canadian,
Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Brazilian and Indian government reports,
studies, research abstracts and status reports, press releases, conference
presentations, telephone and email communication. Corporate information
includes annual reports, quarterly reports, press releases, information from
corporate Websites, corporate presentations to analysts, conference
presentations, and published speeches by corporate executives as well as
telephone and email communications, including foreign language translations of
public information. The report also includes information from television
reports and the print media. Most information was published between January
2006 and January 2009.
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