Are you in need of fuel cell replacement for your vehicle?
Or maybe someone who are looking for a manufacturer to supply you with high quality fuel cells.
I assumed your here because you probably belong to the two categories of readers above.
Either way, we’ve made this thread to give you the recent update on the automotive fuel cell market and feature the current top player companies.
Before we jump on to the highlight of our topic, let us give you a brief insight of what is a fuel cell and how does it work?
A fuel cell is a device that generated electricity by using chemical reaction. Each of this product has two electrodes called the anode and cathode.
To better explain how fuel cell works let’s see this related example:
Modern car has two ways to power. Most of the cars are using an internal combustion engine to burn the fuel, generate heat and push pistons in up and down stroke.
While the electric cars have a different way. These cars rely on batteries that are feeding the electric power to electric motors which in turn drive the wheels directly.
And as for the hybrid cars, they are using both the electric and internal-combustion engine and have it switched to suit the needed driving requirements.
How is this connected with fuel cells? let’s say that fuel cell is like a bridge between an internal-combustion engine and battery power.
But, unlike an engine, a fuel cell doesn’t burn the hydrogen. What it does is to fuse chemically with oxygen from air to make water.
In the process, electricity is released and this is used to power an electric motor that can make the vehicle to work.
This device can provide a steady supply of hydrogen and continuous electricity for as long as there’s fuel in the tank.
The Top OEM Fuel Cell Manufacturers:
- Hyundai Fuel Cell
- Doosan Fuel Cell
- Horizon Fuel Cell
- Ballard Fuel Cell
- Nuvera Fuel Cell
- Air Liquide Fuel Cell
- Hydrogenics Fuel Cell
- Intelligent Energy Fuel Cell
- PowerCell Fuel Cell
- Nedstack Fuel Cell
- Proton Fuel Cell
- Plug Fuel Cell
- ITM Fuel Cell
Fuel Cell Market Overview
The Automotive Fuel Cell Market is estimated to be 13.6 thousand units in 2020 and projected to reach 932.6 thousand units by 2028, at a CAGR of 69.7%.
According to MarketsAndMarkets
Indeed, the automotive fuel cell market has some attractive opportunities ahead.
The report also stated the key growth drivers for the markets are the following:
- Higher efficiency than gasoline and diesel
- Longer driving range
- Fast refueling
- Increasing government initiatives
- Investment for the development of fuel cell technology
- Increasing use of fuel cells in the transportation sector
The next section are the major companies along with their product features and benefits:
Hyundai Fuel Cell
Hyundai Motor is a global leader in the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology.
They are the world’s first automaker to produce and market fuel-cell electric vehicles with the introduction of ix35 Fuel Cell (also known as Tucson Fuel Cell) in 2013.
Hyundai’s second-generation FCEV, the NEXO, is capable of emitting clean water vapour and purifies the air while in the drive.
But do not get confuse with Nexo above, we are not talking about the fuel cell product here. This is a vehicle from Hyundai where they integrate their innovated fuel cells.
Nexo is a Hyundai brand with a advertisement banner of “The world’s only fuel cell for SUV”. It is currently available in California area.
How did Hyundai able to developed the fuel cell installed with Nexo?
Hyundai Motors publicly announced to invest with 3 firms the: Impact Coatings, H2Pro and GRZ Technologies
This is their strategic actions to help them developed for fuel cell, hydrogen production, and hydrogen storage technologies.
The said investment made Hyundai’s hydrogen leadership to strengthen with the expanded infrastructure and efficient FCEV manufacturing.
“Our investment in these innovative companies will reduce the production cost of FCEVs and enhance the safety and affordability of hydrogen infrastructure,” quoted said Youngcho Chi, President and Chief Innovation Officer at Hyundai Motor Group.
Impact Coatings
Impact Coatings AB is a Swedish leading supplier of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) ceramic coating solutions for fuel cells, offering coating materials, machines, and services.
H2Pro
H2Pro is an Israeli start up business that developed the E-TAC (electrochemical, thermally active chemical) water splitting technology, which is known to be efficient, affordable, and safe.
GRZ Technologies
GRZ Technologies is a Switzerland based company specialising in energy storage in hydrogen form.
Together with the help of these businesses above, Hyundai is successfully created their “Nexo”.
To know more about the Hyundai fuel cells, check out the 3 businesses. Hyundai can only provide this latest fuel cell as of the moment.
Resources:
Hyundai News Update to Strengthen Fuel Cell Technology
Hyundai Nexo Fuel Cell Vehicle
GRZ Technology Official Site
H2Pro Official Site
Impact Coatings Official Site
Doosan Fuel Cell
Doosan Fuel Cell America, Inc. is a new branch in addition to the Doosan’s 121 years’ legacy based in Korea. It was established in the year 2014 after acquiring the asset and intellectual property of the former UTC Power (a division of United Technologies).
The company made up to this moment with the help of experience employees and more than 50 years of investment in fuel cell technologies.
They might be a young company but became the forefront of the fuel cell technology.
Going back in October 2019, Doosan had an agreement with Hyundai Motor. And that is to co-develop the fuel cell systems and generation networks.
According to source, Hyundai Motor Group, Doosan Fuel Cell and a state-run automotive parts innovation center called Ulsan TechnoPark signed a memorandum with the utmost understanding to cooperate on hydrogen-based microgrid demonstration project.
With the vision to create an independent hydrogen fuel cell energy network.
Each company will manufacture two different fuel cell models. Hyundai Motor will create polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), while Doosan Fuel Cell will make phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC). Ulsan TechnoPark is in charge of the construction and management.
Doosan fuel cells benefits are the following:
- No necessary combustion for clean operation
- Operates on a natural gas (Doosan PureCell® Model 400)
- Can generate up to 460 kW of clean electricity and 1.7 million BTU/hour of useable heat
The company, fuel cell engineer’s manufactures and tests each PureCell® System in their in-house facility to ensure quality.
The result is a remarkable to provide 98% operational up-time and an unmatched fuel cell stack life of 10 years.
Resources:
Doosan PureCell Fuel Cell Product Page
Hyundai Motor Group and Doosan Fuel Cell Public Announced Agreement
Doosan Fuel Cell Product Presentation in PDF
Horizon Fuel Cell
George Gu and Taras Wankewycz established Horizon in 2003 at Singapore. They had a wide range of products to provide. These products are for automotive, consumers, recreational, security and for data centres.
Horizon are known for the fuel cell from the company automotive product lines.
It was in year 2004 when Horizon launches its first PEM fuel cell stacks with a simplified self-humidified air-breathing architecture.
Later on, Horizon begins the developed of different designs and development that reduces fuel cell costs by several orders of magnitude.
After a year, they have completed the first company low-cost fuel cell. Soon after, they launched the H-Racer which is named as ” Transportation Best Invention of the year 2006 ” at the time.
Horizon fuel cell for automotive is the VL-30 Fuel Cell. The following are Horizon fuel cell features:
- 30kW liquid-cooled design
- Self-humidifying
- Low pressure program
- Capable to deliver high power density using simple balance of plant requirements
- Simple installation
- 2kW/L power density
Horzon fuel cell VL-30 be widely used in cars, buses, passenger cars and logistics vehicles. It is also suitable for stationary power solutions.
Resources:
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Official Site
Horizon in Wiki
Horizon Fuel Cell Product Page
Autopak UK Using Latest Horizon Fuel Cell
Ballard Fuel Cell
Ballard Power Systems Inc. manufacturer of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for heavy-duty applications (consisting of bus and tram), portable power, material handling as well as engineering services.
Founded in 1979 under the corporate name Ballard Research Inc. They were made to conduct R&D on high-energy lithium batteries.
Ballard delivered PEM fuel cells worldwide.
The firm has designed and shipped over 400 MW of fuel cell products to date.
It went public in 1993 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE), and in 1995 was listed on the NASDAQ.
In 2000, Ballard Power Systems opened a fuel cell manufacturing facility in Burnaby, B.C.
Today, Ballard have branch of offices in Canada, Europe, USA and China.
When you choose Ballard fuel cells, the following advantages are expected from them:
- Proprietary MEA
- Proven durability
- Purpose build designs
- System integration support
- Volume manufacturing
- Tier 1 customers
Resources:
Ballard Power System Inc. in Wiki
Ballard Power System Inc. Official Site
Ballard Fuel Cell Product Page
Nuvera Fuel Cell
In 2000, Nuvera was founded by Arthur D. Little (ADL), De Nora and Hess Corporation.
Merging the fuel processing technology of Epyx Corporation (a spin-off of Arthur D. Little) and De Nora Fuel Cells makes Nuvera successful.
Nuvera uses it’s decades of hydrogen and fuel cell innovation knowledge to develop and manufactured high quality fuel cells.
They had fuel cell product portfolio for on and off road vehicles.
Nuvera® fuel cells has proven it’s power, efficiency and durability to meet demanding fleet applications. The following are what we can expect from their products:
- Featuring a unique proprietary design that provides a qualitative leap in electrified transportation
- Open Flow Field – Increased Efficiency and Power Density
- Uncoated Metal Plates – Superior Resistance to Shock and Vibration
Nuvera has an in-house facility for the fuel cell industry. They also have a worldwide presence and the capabilities of an established vehicle OEM.
Resources:
Nuvera Official Site
Nuvera Fuel Cell Product Page
Air Liquide Fuel Cell
Air Liquide is a global leader in gases, technologies and services since 1902. The company are presented in 80 countries with estimated 66,000 employees.
Air Liquide fuel cells are widely demandable in the automotive market today, here are the product advantages from this brand:
- A PEM fuel cell type
- Consume about 0.8 Nm3 of hydrogen per kWh produce
- Proven durability
- Made up of elementary cells
- Stacked in series or in parallel circuits
- Intensity can be precisely calibrated to the intended use
- Hydrogen-powered vehicle or for an autonomous stationary application compatibility
To know more about Air Liquide fuel cell, check out the company official pages.
Resources:
Air Liquide Official Site
Air Liquide Fuel Cell Product Page
Hydrogenics Fuel Cell
Hydrogenics, a Cummins Inc. has over 70 years of providing new technologies and applications for industrial and commercial Hydrogen systems.
Cummins Inc. is a world global leader and a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions.
Cummin’s products range from diesel and natural gas engines to hybrid and electric platforms. The firm headquartered is located in Columbus, Indiana U.S.A. They employed an estimated total of 62,600 people globally. They had reach a total of 190 territories, approximately 600 distributors and 7600 dealer’s location.
Hydrogenic fuel cells uses advanced technology to produce calibrated products, the following are notable product features of their products:
- No zero greenhouse gas and carbon emissions
- Hydrogen installations in service around the world
- Trademark low pressure
- Non-humidified stack technology
- Meets operator expectations for reliability, durability, fuel efficiency, affordability
- Quiet operation
- Easy set-up maintenance
- Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and Telecom backup power
- Offer reliability and a smaller carbon footprint compared to diesel and battery systems
- Operate in fleets and utility rooms around the globe
Hydrogenic has over 2,000 fuel cell, 500 electrolyzer installations and numerous demonstration projects to date.
Resources:
Hydrogenics Official Site
Hydrogenics Fuel Cell Product Page
Hydrogenics Fuel Cell for Heavy Duty Application
Intelligent Energy Fuel Cell
Intelligent Energy is a fuel cell company with more than 30 years working to PEM fuel cell development.
The company is focused on the development and commercialization of its PEM fuel cells for automotive, stationary power and UAV applications.
The firm headquartered is located in UK with additional operations in US, Japan, Korea and China.
The company is part of the Meditor group. Which is a international investment business interested in arrange of industries from energy to pharmaceuticals.
Meditor acquired the company in 2017 and has accelerated its investment.
Intelligent Energy Ltd. is credited with ISO 9001-2015 (Quality), ISO 14001-2015 (Environmental) and OHSAS 18001-2007 (Occupational Health & Safety).
Intelligent Energy fuel cells are:
- Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell products
- Operate using compressed hydrogen gas as fuel
- Use only tailpipe emission is water vapor
- High power density
- Delivers low temperature operability
- Utilising simplified balance of plant
Check out Intelligent Energy fuel cells in the company’s official site.
Resources:
Intelligent Energy Official Site
Intelligent Energy Product Technical Sheet in PDF
Intelligent Energy Product Page
Intelligent Energy Wiki
PowerCell Fuel Cell
PowerCell is established in 2008 is a company dedicated in developing an improved fuel cell product. Currently, PowerCell had about 75 workers that helping them out in their productions.
The firm ensure to provide valued customers with ingenious fuel cell technology.
PowerCell’s fuel cell systems are targeting needs in mobile and stationary applications.
PowerCell fuel cell for automotive applications are available in two series – PowerCell MS-100 and PowerCell MS-30 (10-30KW). In general, these fuel cells have the following product features:
- Unique design that offers world-class power density
- Reduces weight and takes up little space.
- Modular, scalable, and adjustable
- Deliver from 1 kW to megawatt solutions
- Offers unique products that operate on reformate gases as well as pure hydrogen
- Designed for the cold Nordic climate
The following are the specific features of PowerCell fuel cell for automotive applications:
For Maritime and Heavy Duty Transportation Applications
- With powerful single stack fuel cell system
- Enables durable and flexible use in a wide range of applications
- Specially designed for heavy-duty use
- Makes way for zero emission solutions for both road and sea transportation
- Powerful output of 100 kW and possibility
- Compact design in vertical and horizontal versions
- Robust construction of all components
For battery-operated electrical vehicles
- Runs on hydrogen and has a fully automated system
- Easy to integrate
- With low fuel consumption
- REX Range Extender
- Safety system including hydrogen sensor and alarm I/O
- PEM technology, fast start up and shut down
- Low internal power consumption
- Easy to integrate
- Liquid cooled, wide operation conditions
- Fuel tolerant, for use with lower class hydrogen or reformate hydrogen
- Fully automated control system including cell voltage monitoring
This fuel cells are made for Swedish automotive industry. To learn more, visit the listed company link below.
Resources:
PowerCell Official Site
PowerCell Fuel Cell Product Page
PowerCell Fuel Cell Technology
Nedstack Fuel Cell
Nedstack is a world leader in manufacturing and providing high-power PEM fuel cell solutions.
With 20 years of fuel cell experience, Nedstack finally has established a name in the automotive market.
The company have installed a more than 500 systems with inclusion of the world’s longest running PEM Power Plant. The world’s first Megawatt size PEM Power Plant and world’s largest PEM Power Plant.
PemGen is Nedstack label of fuel cell power installations. The company is also known to be a PEM fuel cell market leader.
Nedstack fuel cell technology B.V.
Nedstack fuel cells listed the following product features:
- Durable and reliable
- Safety
- Superior in efficiency
- Product maturity
- Zero-Emission
- Recyclable
At Nedstack a successfully implemented and certified PEM stack portfolio are available. They serve a wide range of mobile and larger stationary applications.
Resources:
Nedstack Official Site
Nedstack Fuel Cell Product Page for Commercial Applications
Nedstack Fuel Cell Product Technology
Proton Fuel Cell
Magnet Motor was established in the year 1980. They started with “Missing Link Development” of hydrogen fuel cell technology for a fully electric vehicle platform.
In January 1, 1994, the firm started the development of fuel cells. With their 20 years of experience as a pioneer in hydrogen technology they are able to provide mobile and stationary sectors.
Through the company’s Cleantech Competence they are able to manufacture energetically sustainable products.
Proton fuel cell is one of the most top brand in the market, with the following product benefits:
- Energy solution with a future – absolutely emission-free
- Emission-free energy solution PEM fuel cell
- Ideal component of a green, sustainable and decentralized power supply
- With very high reliability and low maintenance costs
Learn more of Proton fuel cell from the link below.
Resources:
Proton Fuel Cell Product Page
Proton Fuel Cell Data Sheet
Plug Fuel Cell
Plug Power is a fuel cell manufacturer focused on providing customers with future cost-effective hydrogen and fuel cell power solutions. The company works to increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon footprints in fuel cells products.
The firm is driving the electrification of mobility today.
They had an estimated total of 25,000 deployed fuel cells and more than 180 million run-hours in automobile applications.
Plug power is an established leader in the commercially viable hydrogen and fuel cell market.
The firm has a tag banner of ” PLUG POWER IS THE FUEL CELL COMPANY LEADING INDUSTRY INTO THE FUTURE “.
Plug fuel cells for automotive applications are known as ” ProGen fuel cell”. Here are these brand product features and advantages:
- Complete fuel cell system
- Flexible architecture and scalable power
- Rugged reliability
- Integrated safety system
- Zero-Emission
To know more about the company’s fuel cell product. Visit the link below.
Resources:
Plug Power Official Site
Plug Fuel Cell Product Page
Plug Fuel Cell Presentation in PDF
ITM Fuel Cell
ITM Power PLC manufacture and integrated hydrogen energy solutions to improve fuel cell technology. They are a recognised expert in providing fuel cells for automotive applications.
The company had a broad fuel cell product lines.
ITM fuel cells uses PEM technology provides:
- Performance longevity and self-pressurisation
- Rapid response
- Full integration
- Allows flexibility of sizing using well proven technology and design
- Allows variable operation
- Rapid stack exchange in the field
- Hydrogen generated
- Flexible control system
The following are ITM fuel cells:
The smallest containerised PEM electrolyser system
The medium sized containerised PEM electrolyser system.
The largest containerised PEM electrolyser system.
This is a modular based system capable of large-scale hydrogen production
Resources:
ITM Official Site
ITM Fuel Cell Product Page
HGas1SP ITM Fuel Cell Technical Data Sheet in PDF
HGas2SP ITM Fuel Cell Technical Data Sheet in PDF
HGas3SP ITM Fuel Cell Technical Data Sheet in PDF
HGasXMW ITM Fuel Cell Technical Data Sheet in PDF
Conclusion
Now that the fuel cell products from top OEM companies are presented, we hope that you can easily find the right fuel cell you need by comparing them with each other.
Also, if you are looking for reliable supplier of fuel cells, we love to hear from you.
