Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Industry Overview

The global solid oxide fuel cell market size was estimated at USD 627.43 million in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40.7% from 2024 to 2030.

The increasing private-public partnerships are 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 other conventional technologies.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Market

Favorable government regulations and their ability to cut down emission rates and use domestic energy sources, such as natural gas, are some of the key factors likely to boost the over the next eight years. 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.

Proactive involvement and coordination between public and private companies are essential to deploy hydrogen fuel to the expanding application base and implement new, economically viable technologies. During the forecast period, the market is anticipated to witness a rise in public-private partnerships, especially for R&D projects.

SOFC is emerging as one of the prominent fuel cell technologies worldwide. The governments of countries such as the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and the European Union have aided vendors worldwide to enhance research & development efforts due to the availability of research grants and funds disbursed by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy.

Browse through Grand View Research's Renewable Energy Industry Research Reports.

• The global sucrose esters market size was estimated at USD 82.50 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% in terms of revenue from 2024 to 2030.
• The global fuel ethanol market size was valued at USD 100.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2024 to 2030.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the solid oxide fuel cell market report based on application, and region:

SOFC Application Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Capacity, kW; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

• Transportation
• Portable
• Stationary

SOFC Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Capacity, kW; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

• North America
  • US
• Europe
  • Germany
  • France
  • UK
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • South Korea
• Rest of World

Key Companies profiled:

• Bloom Energy
• Mitsubishi Power Ltd.
• Cummins Inc.
• Ceres
• General Electric
• FuelCell Energy Inc.
• Ningbo SOFCMAN Energy
• KYOCERA Corporation
• AVL
• NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD.

Key Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Company 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 R&D activities to develop SOFCs for multiple applications. As a result, the market has witnessed several 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 improving quality. In the coming years, the market is expected to witness the introduction of programs for micro-CHP systems targeting the residential sector.

Recent Developments

• In March 2024, Nissan started trials of a power generation system fueled by bio-ethanol, which is powered by SOFC. The trials began at Nissan’s Tochigi Plant, the company aims to improve power generation capacity toward full-scale operations by 2030
• In March 2023, Elcogen and Bumhan announced a partnership to commercialize SOFCs and electrolyzers. Under the agreement, Elcogen will facilitate the supply of SOEC and SOFC technology, which offers efficient solutions to emission-free energy production
• In February 2023, Weichai Power launched a stationary power SOFC system based on Ceres technology with EU CE certification of TÜD SÜD. Moreover, the SOFC achieved an operational time of 30,000 hours

Order a free sample PDF of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.