Pike Research Forecasts Fuel Cell Markets in Asia Pacific to Reach $6.7 Billion by 2017

A new report from Pike Research forecasts that the recent investments in fuel cell technology, particularly in Japan, Korea, and China, along with the increasing adoption of fuel cells for a range of applications, will result in a burgeoning market within Asia Pacific that will reach $6.7 billion by 2017, up from just $52.8 million in 2011.

"Corporations and governments in Asia Pacific have made a strong commitment to fuel cell technology, and it will begin to bear fruit in the next few years,” says senior analyst Andy Bae. “Stationary fuel cells are the early leader in terms of market adoption, but the transportation sector will ultimately have the largest share of the market following the commercial launch of fuel cell vehicles in 2015. Portable fuel cells have strong potential in the long term, but market development will be slow over the next several years.”

Pike Research’s analysis indicates that the stationary fuel cell sector will reach $2.6 billion by the end of the 2017 forecast period. The transportation sector will not see significant revenues until 2015, but in just a few short years the market value will rise to $3.8 billion. The cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that the portable power sector will be dominated by external battery chargers, and will increase in value to $362 million by 2017.

Bae adds that, in the stationary fuel cell space, Japan and Korea have had projects in place for a sufficient length of time and have achieved several milestones with regard to proving the technology and its business feasibility. In the case of residential combined heat and power (resCHP), Japan began offering commercial solutions with the ENE-FARM project in 2009 and Korea has followed suit with trials for its Residential CHPs Monitoring project. Meanwhile, China has been driving technology research and innovation through government, academic, and enterprise initiatives, and for the most part, the country is focusing its efforts on fuel cell transportation.

Pike Research’s report, “Fuel Cells in Asia Pacific”, provides insight into fuel cell industry dynamics, market trends, and technology innovations for three main sectors: stationary fuel cells, fuel cell vehicles, and fuel cells for portable power applications in the Asia Pacific region, concentrating on China, Japan, and Korea. Market forecasts through 2017 are included for unit shipments and revenue, segmented by key countries and application areas. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.