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DOE releases annual market trends report on fuel cell technology
NEWS marketing smaller onsite hydrogen generator technologies – such as H2 Logic, Hydrogenics, ITM Power, Nuvera, and Proton Onsite/ SunHydro – could offer a more modular path to hydrogen infrastructure buildout. Yet another pathway is presented by vehicles using very small quantities of hydrogen, such as scooters, which can be fueled by small solid-state hydrogen cartridges distributed in retail outlets [see the APFCT scooters item on page 2]. Pike Research’s analysis indicates that forklifts will be the largest driver of hydrogen fuel demand by 2020, representing 36% of the total market by that time. The other large application categories include light-duty vehicles, which will consume 33% of total hydrogen, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for stationary power, which will represent 27% of the total. Fuel cell buses and scooters will each be a relatively small percentage of total hydrogen demand.
With increasing market penetration, falling costs, and significant improvements in performance and durability, positive trends in the fuel cells market are expected to continue into 2011 and beyond. The three reports, facilitated by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), signal important developments across clean energy and energy efficiency sectors, and will be a valuable tool for state and local officials, as well as industry stakeholders. 2010 Fuel Cell Technologies Market Report: http://ow.ly/5ZL7D Breakthrough Technologies Institute: www.btionline.org DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: www.eere.energy.gov
DOE releases annual market trends report on fuel cell technology
T
he US Department of Energy has published three 2010 market reports which detail the market conditions and trends for fuel cell technologies, advanced vehicles, and wind energy. These three reports found continuing growth in deployment and manufacturing across all three technologies, improving US global competitiveness in the clean energy economy and creating clean tech jobs. The 2010 Fuel Cell Technologies Market Report – produced by the independent Breakthrough Technologies Institute in Washington, DC, which also runs Fuel Cells 2000 – provides an overview of trends in the fuel cell industry, including product shipments, market development, and corporate performance. The report indicates continued growth in commercial deployments, especially material handling equipment like forklifts and lift trucks, combined heat and power (CHP), and backup and auxiliary power unit (APU) applications. The report shows that fuel cell costs continue to fall, noting that the high-volume cost of automotive fuel cells declined to $51 per kW, an 80% reduction since 2002. Commercial sales continue to grow, as the number of fuel cell units shipped from North America quadrupled between 2008 and 2010.
August 2011
myFC AB, Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 706 562007, www.myfc.se or www.powertrekk.com
DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Program: www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells
Pike Research: www.pikeresearch.com
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cell phones produced by the major manufacturers, thanks to new standards promoted by the European Commission. Manufacturers have agreed to adopt the micro-USB connector as the new common phone charger standard. The agreement, involving 14 mobile phone manufacturers, will come into effect next year, and the charger should be commonplace by 2013. ‘The new standard will change the way in which mobile phone chargers are bought, as they will be sold over-the-counter instead of coming in the box together with the handset,’ explains Westerholm. ‘This opens up a good sales opportunity for us. Consumers will choose between different types of chargers, in different colors, and for different purposes.’
myFC raises $6.7m to launch fuel cell mobile phone charger
S
wedish-based myFC, which is developing high-power-density hydrogen fuel cells, has raised US$6.7 million in the second tranche of its expansion funding round. The investment will be used to commercialize and launch its first consumer product, the PowerTrekk fuel cell charger for mobile phones. The product will begin shipping in the fourth quarter of this year in Europe, and in the first quarter of 2012 in the US. The phone charger will address the increasingly tangible ‘power gap’ between the amount of power that users demand and what is actually available. This problem is exacerbated by the ever-increasing number of power-sapping functions and applications on the latest cell phones. ‘We see this funding round as an important validation, and a great step on the way to awaken a market for fuel cells and prove the excellent performance and durability of the technology,’ says Björn Westerholm, CEO of myFC. The investment, which was divided into two tranches, will enable myFC to finalize the commercialization, kickstart the marketing efforts, and launch the PowerTrekk in the consumer market by the end of this year. Among the investors in this round are KTH Chalmers Capital and the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund. Current myFC partners include the high-tech developer and manufacturer Nolato. European consumers will soon have the convenience of a single charger suitable for all
Plug Power orders 3250 Ballard stacks as GenDrive sales grow
P
lug Power in upstate New York has placed a purchase order with Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems, for a minimum 3250 fuel cell stacks over the next 18 months. The Ballard PEM fuel cell stacks – ranging in power from 1.5 kW up to 20 kW – will be used in Plug Power’s GenDrive® fuel cell product for the materials handling market. The deal – structured under an existing equipment supply agreement between the companies that runs through 2014 [FCB, August 2010] – calls for Plug Power to purchase a minimum of 3250 Ballard fuel cell stacks by the end of 2012, with power levels ranging from 1.5 to 20.0 kW each. Ballard anticipates that both the scale and cadence of associated product shipments will contribute to increased manufacturing efficiency and reduced fuel cell stack cost. Ballard’s FCvelocity®-9SSL fuel cell stacks are integrated by Plug Power into its line of GenDrive systems, which the company has designed to address the complete range of Class 1 sit-down counterbalanced trucks, Class 2 reach trucks, and Class 3 pallet jacks for the North American market. Plug Power is also working to develop GenDrive systems with Ballard fuel cell stacks which can facilitate further reductions in system cost, expand the set of addressable applications, and increase the geographic market reach. ‘As we drive toward profitability, Plug Power has seen orders accelerate, with material handling customers continuing to convert distribution center lift truck fleets to GenDrive hydrogen fuel cell power,’ says Andy Marsh, president
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9
With increasing market penetration, falling costs, and significant improvements in performance and durability, positive trends in the fuel cells market are expected to continue into 2011 and beyond. The three reports, facilitated by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), signal important developments across clean energy and energy efficiency sectors, and will be a valuable tool for state and local officials, as well as industry stakeholders. 2010 Fuel Cell Technologies Market Report: http://ow.ly/5ZL7D Breakthrough Technologies Institute: www.btionline.org DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: www.eere.energy.gov
DOE releases annual market trends report on fuel cell technology
T
he US Department of Energy has published three 2010 market reports which detail the market conditions and trends for fuel cell technologies, advanced vehicles, and wind energy. These three reports found continuing growth in deployment and manufacturing across all three technologies, improving US global competitiveness in the clean energy economy and creating clean tech jobs. The 2010 Fuel Cell Technologies Market Report – produced by the independent Breakthrough Technologies Institute in Washington, DC, which also runs Fuel Cells 2000 – provides an overview of trends in the fuel cell industry, including product shipments, market development, and corporate performance. The report indicates continued growth in commercial deployments, especially material handling equipment like forklifts and lift trucks, combined heat and power (CHP), and backup and auxiliary power unit (APU) applications. The report shows that fuel cell costs continue to fall, noting that the high-volume cost of automotive fuel cells declined to $51 per kW, an 80% reduction since 2002. Commercial sales continue to grow, as the number of fuel cell units shipped from North America quadrupled between 2008 and 2010.
August 2011
myFC AB, Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 706 562007, www.myfc.se or www.powertrekk.com
DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Program: www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells
Pike Research: www.pikeresearch.com
COMMERCIALIZATION
cell phones produced by the major manufacturers, thanks to new standards promoted by the European Commission. Manufacturers have agreed to adopt the micro-USB connector as the new common phone charger standard. The agreement, involving 14 mobile phone manufacturers, will come into effect next year, and the charger should be commonplace by 2013. ‘The new standard will change the way in which mobile phone chargers are bought, as they will be sold over-the-counter instead of coming in the box together with the handset,’ explains Westerholm. ‘This opens up a good sales opportunity for us. Consumers will choose between different types of chargers, in different colors, and for different purposes.’
myFC raises $6.7m to launch fuel cell mobile phone charger
S
wedish-based myFC, which is developing high-power-density hydrogen fuel cells, has raised US$6.7 million in the second tranche of its expansion funding round. The investment will be used to commercialize and launch its first consumer product, the PowerTrekk fuel cell charger for mobile phones. The product will begin shipping in the fourth quarter of this year in Europe, and in the first quarter of 2012 in the US. The phone charger will address the increasingly tangible ‘power gap’ between the amount of power that users demand and what is actually available. This problem is exacerbated by the ever-increasing number of power-sapping functions and applications on the latest cell phones. ‘We see this funding round as an important validation, and a great step on the way to awaken a market for fuel cells and prove the excellent performance and durability of the technology,’ says Björn Westerholm, CEO of myFC. The investment, which was divided into two tranches, will enable myFC to finalize the commercialization, kickstart the marketing efforts, and launch the PowerTrekk in the consumer market by the end of this year. Among the investors in this round are KTH Chalmers Capital and the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund. Current myFC partners include the high-tech developer and manufacturer Nolato. European consumers will soon have the convenience of a single charger suitable for all
Plug Power orders 3250 Ballard stacks as GenDrive sales grow
P
lug Power in upstate New York has placed a purchase order with Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems, for a minimum 3250 fuel cell stacks over the next 18 months. The Ballard PEM fuel cell stacks – ranging in power from 1.5 kW up to 20 kW – will be used in Plug Power’s GenDrive® fuel cell product for the materials handling market. The deal – structured under an existing equipment supply agreement between the companies that runs through 2014 [FCB, August 2010] – calls for Plug Power to purchase a minimum of 3250 Ballard fuel cell stacks by the end of 2012, with power levels ranging from 1.5 to 20.0 kW each. Ballard anticipates that both the scale and cadence of associated product shipments will contribute to increased manufacturing efficiency and reduced fuel cell stack cost. Ballard’s FCvelocity®-9SSL fuel cell stacks are integrated by Plug Power into its line of GenDrive systems, which the company has designed to address the complete range of Class 1 sit-down counterbalanced trucks, Class 2 reach trucks, and Class 3 pallet jacks for the North American market. Plug Power is also working to develop GenDrive systems with Ballard fuel cell stacks which can facilitate further reductions in system cost, expand the set of addressable applications, and increase the geographic market reach. ‘As we drive toward profitability, Plug Power has seen orders accelerate, with material handling customers continuing to convert distribution center lift truck fleets to GenDrive hydrogen fuel cell power,’ says Andy Marsh, president
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9