Carbon Trust competition to kick-start fuel cell technology

The Carbon Trust has today launched an £8m competition designed to help UK firms secure a chunk of a global fuel cell market that new research estimates could be worth $180bn (£112bn) a year by 2050.

The Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge is inviting applications for funding from developers of fuel cell technologies that can be used in vehicles or buildings. Three winning entries will each receive £1m to help fund pilot projects with a further £5m available if one of the projects can demonstrate that it can substantially lower the cost of production for fuel cell systems.

The Carbon Trust said that the aim of the competition was to identify commercially viable fuel cell technologies that can be developed at a cost that is competitive with conventional technologies. According to research from the government-backed body, fuel cells remain 30 to 40 per cent too expensive for most markets, even when they are produced at volume.

However, globally the market for fuel cells is still currently growing at about 60 per cent a year and experts are convinced that lower cost fuel cell systems have the potential to offer a reliable zero-carbon alternative to conventional vehicles and heating systems.

Dr Robert Trezona, head of research and development at the Carbon Trust, said that UK firms had to move quickly to develop commercially viable fuel cell technologies or risk missing out on a huge potential market.

"Fuel cells have been 10 years away from a real breakthrough for the past 20 years," he said. "This is a critical moment for UK fuel cell technology as emerging markets combine with technology cost breakthroughs to create a golden opportunity to launch world-beating products onto a massive global market."