Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Stationary, Portable, Transportation), By Region (Europe, North America, Asia Pacific), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global solid oxide fuel cell market size was valued at USD 273.8 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.2% from 2021 to 2028. The growing demand for unconventional energy sources is one of the key factors fostering market growth. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are one of the fastest-growing alternate backup power options, primarily due to their ability to generate electricity using a variety of fuels. In addition, they are eco-friendly as their by-product is harmless, unlike conventional technologies. 

The U.S. is among the early adopters of clean energy solutions for sectors, such as power generation and transportation. This can be attributed to the increased importance of clean energy solutions as per the energy act introduced by the U.S. government. Such acts have provided a starting guideline regarding implementing clean energy solutions in the country’s energy sector. Favorable government regulations and the ability of SOFC to cut down emission rates & use domestic sources of energy, such as natural gas, are also some of the key factors likely to boost the market growth.

Furthermore, the rising emphasis of the regional governments of mature economies, such as the U.S. and Europe, on reducing emissions and their inclination toward a technological shift to support or, to some extent, even replace the aging electric grids is likely to drive the market over the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the market growth globally owing to the factors, such as disruption in the supply chain, which delayed some projects. Furthermore, the demand has been reduced in the residential and commercial end-user segments due to limited new construction activities and the diversion of available funds by these end-users to sustain the pandemic.

Application Insights

The stationary application segment led the market and accounted for more than 81% revenue share in 2020. A stationary SOFC system is one of the cleanest and most efficient heat and electricity generation technologies. The performance of these systems is focused on three high-level parameters, including net electrical efficiency, overall efficiency in the case of cogeneration, and durability.

European countries, such as France and the U.K., are investing heavily in the R&D of SOFC for power generation and transportation applications. The factors above are anticipated to boost the growth of the stationary application segment in the SOFC market over the forecast period.

Collaboration among SOFC vendors and transportation sector vendors is expected to develop SOFC-based systems for transportation applications over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2019, Bloom Energy collaborated with Samsung Heavy Industries to build ships that SOFC powers. These factors are anticipated to boost the transportation application segment growth over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

North America led the global market in 2020 with a revenue share of more than 45%. It is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. Solid oxide fuel cells majorly find wide-scale applications in the stationary segment in North America. The market is expected to expand further at a considerable growth rate over the forecast period.

The market in the U.S. has developed at a tremendous rate and is growing significantly compared to the rest of the world on account of strong government support and strategic market focus.

Germany is among the leading markets for SOFCs applications in Europe. This can be attributed to structured energy policies and concrete targets introduced by the government of Germany. The future development of technologies related to SOFC has also been defined in the energy policies.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

In recent years, commercialization of SOFC systems has started with specific niche markets, such as small-scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) in Japan, on-site power generations, especially for data centers and military applications in the U.S. Majority of the market participants have focused their research and development activities to develop SOFCs for multiple applications. As a result, the market has witnessed a number of public-private partnerships. Even though the market participants are slowly getting approval from policymakers for demonstrating their projects, the industry players have an uphill task of bringing down the cost and improve quality. In the coming years, the market is expected to witness introduction programs for micro-CHP systems targeting the residential sector.  Some prominent players in the global solid oxide fuel cell market include:

• Bloom Energy

• Mitsubishi Power Ltd.

• Cummins Inc.

• Ceres

• General Electric

• FuelCell Energy, Inc.

• Ningbo SOFCMAN Energy

• Kyocera Corp.

• AVL

• NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2028. For the purpose of this report, Grand View Research has segmented the global solid oxide fuel cell market report on the basis of application and region:

• Application Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Capacity, kW; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • Transportation

  • Portable

  • Stationary

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Capacity, kW; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • France

    • U.K.

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • South Korea

  • Rest of World