Frost & Sullivan Forecasts Accelerated Growth for European Stationary Fuel Cells

LONDON, April 13, 2010 - Innovative developments in the European stationary fuel cell market are
shaping an optimistic future for the industry. There is a growing interest in
many European countries to adopt this "zero-emission" technology across
various applications. Boosted by this need of sustainable solutions, the fuel
cell market is transitioning from validation to the pre-commercialisation
stage. Frost & Sullivan's research suggests that this process is expected to
generate maximum revenues at accelerated growth rates in the coming years.
Specifically, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy have been
identified as the opportunity hot spots for the emerging stationary fuel cell
technologies.

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Three types of stationary fuel cells that are expected to be at the
forefront of driving growth in the industry are proton exchange membrane fuel
cells (PEMFCs), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), and solid oxide fuel
cells (SOFCs). PEMFC is the most widely researched fuel cell technology in
the world. It is preferred by the automotive industry as well as stationary
power generators, as it operates at relatively low temperatures. Its
forecasted revenues are estimated to be around US$180 million by 2018 with a
compound annual growth rate of 90% between the years 2010 to 2018. The key
identified geographical markets for PEMFCs are Germany, the UK, and the
Netherlands.

In the total European stationary fuel cells market, MCFCs will be one of
the already commercially available fuel cell technologies. In comparison to
other fuel cells, MCFC manufacturers focus on more advanced technological
improvements that are necessary to equip the fuel cell systems with increased
robustness. With current revenues of US$6.5 million, this technology is
projected to have potential revenues of US$83 million by 2018 with a compound
annual growth rate of 67%. Its key geographical markets are Germany and the
UK.

The third type of stationary fuel cells, SOFCs, shows the potential to be
one of the key power generation technologies in the future owing to their
high electrical efficiency. They can run on many fuels, including hydrogen,
methane, carbon monoxide, and biogas. SOFCs are estimated to have potential
revenues of US$3.8 million by 2018 at a compound annual growth rate of 15%.
The technology's key geographical markets are Germany, the UK, and Italy.

The regional hot spots for European stationary fuel cells offer
influential opportunities for growth. With more than 350 companies and
institutes, the German fuel cells industry is the largest one in Europe.
Germany's well-developed fuel cell supplier network facilitates the
development, testing, deployment and servicing of fuel cells. By 2015,
Germany will account for more than one-third of the total European demand for
fuel cells. The UK is the second largest European market for stationary fuel
cells. In 2007 the country announced the Energy Research Partnership (ERP)
initiative to provide support to development of research in clean energy
technologies, so that they can be introduced in the market in an accelerated
way. In France, although nuclear energy is used predominantly, the
Government's aim to develop its hydrogen economy acts as a major impetus to
the stationary fuel cells market. Finally, Italy's role as a hotspot is
attributable to the Italian Government funding university research for fuel
cell-related studies and these researches are expected to lead to the
formation of new firms in the future.

Despite experiencing accelerating growth, the European stationary fuel
cell industry must combat certain market restraints. The overarching
challenges are high capital and operating costs, lack of effective
technological development to accelerate commercialisation, lack of supportive
legislation, and competition from existing technologies. Nonetheless,
according to Frost & Sullivan Energy Senior Research Analyst Vikas Ravindran,
"To maximise success in today's environmentally conscious society, it is
absolutely imperative to adopt sustainable solutions." The European
stationary fuel cell market is expected to overcome these hurdles, experience
vast growth, and become a viable alterative energy source of the future.

For more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Chiara
Carella, Corporate Communications, at chiara.carella@frost.com, with your
full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address,
company website, city, state and country.

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    Contact:
    Chiara Carella
    Corporate Communications
    T: +44 (0) 207-3438314
    M: +44 (0) 7533017689
    chiara.carella@frost.com

Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications of Frost & Sullivan, +44(0)207-3438314, mobile, +44(0)7533017689, chiara.carella at frost.com