Fuel Cell Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the fuel cell market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global fuel cell market reached a value of nearly $5.1 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $5.1 billion in 2023 to $16.55 billion in 2028 at a rate of 26.5%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 27% from 2028 and reach $54.69 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the rise in demand for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), strong economic growth in emerging markets and favorable government policies. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was lack of fuel cell infrastructure.

Going forward, rising focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, growing research and development (R&D) activities, and increasing environmental regulations and stringent emission requirements will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the fuel cell market in the future include high cost of fuel cells.

The fuel cell market is segmented by type into polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and other types. The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM) market was the largest segment of the fuel cell market segmented by type, accounting for 61.6% or $3.14 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cell market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 28.6% during 2023-2028.

The fuel cell market is segmented by application into portable, stationary and transport. The transport market was the largest segment of the fuel cell market segmented by application, accounting for 78.9% or $4.03 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the transport segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cell market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 27.8% during 2023-2028.

The fuel cell market is segmented by end-user into commercial and industrial, transportation and other end-users. The transportation market was the largest segment of the fuel cell market segmented by end-user, accounting for 76.2% or $3.89 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the transportation segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the fuel cell market segmented by end-user, at a CAGR of 27.3% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the fuel cell market, accounting for 48.6% or $2.48 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the fuel cell market will be Middle East and South America where growth will be at CAGRs of 32.1% and 29.9% respectively. These will be followed by Africa and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 29.2% and 27.2% respectively.

The global fuel cell market is fairly concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 30.2% of the total market in 2022. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd was the largest competitor with 7.9% share of the market, followed by Doosan Fuel Cell Inc. with 4%, Plug Power, Inc. with 3.7%, Bloom Energy Corp with 3%, FuelCell Energy, Inc. with 2.7%, Toshiba Corp with 2.4%, Aisin Corp with 2%, Ballard Power Systems Inc. with 1.7%, Cummins Inc. with 1.5%, and SFC Energy AG with 1.3%.

The top opportunities in the fuel cell market segmented by type will arise in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM) segment, which will gain $7.11 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fuel cell market segmented by application will arise in the transport segment, which will gain $9.73 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the fuel cell market segmented by end-user will arise in the transportation segment, which will gain $9.1 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The fuel cell market size will gain the most in China at $ 2.91 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the fuel cell market include expansion of new plants to improve product offerings, product launches focused on fuel cell vehicles to meet growing demand, increasing investments to expand production capacities and strategic partnerships and collaborations among market players to develop efficient and renewable solutions.

Player-adopted strategies in the fuel cell market include focus on expanding operational capabilities through strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions to expand geographical reach, increasing investments for production and enhancing business operations through new product developments.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the fuel cell companies to focus on facility expansion for enhanced product offerings, focus on vehicle fuel cell launches for market growth, focus on strategic investments in production expansion, focus on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM) segments, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic collaborations for renewable solutions, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on transportation end use segment.