Materials for PEM Fuel Cells 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets, Players

Materials demand for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is set to grow in line with an expanding fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market, while stationary applications are also promising, as the hydrogen economy continues to gain traction. This report details the key information for components in PEM fuel cells such as bipolar plates (BPP), gas diffusion layers (GDL), catalyst coated membrane (CCM), membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), ionomers, platinum catalysts and more.

 

 

A PEM fuel cell operates via the synergistic interaction of the various components. The BPP distributes fuel throughout the fuel cell, before the GDL transports reactants and products to/from the catalyst layer, respectively. The catalyst is coated on the membrane (CCM), while the membrane itself transports protons from one side of the fuel cell to the other. Collectively, the CCM and GDL are known as an MEA. The materials for PEM fuel cells market is set to grow at a CAGR of 24% between 2026 and 2036, but there are key questions to be answered with respect to the components used in fuel cells. What are the trends seen for incumbent and emerging materials? How will manufacturing methods for these components change to meet increased demand? Who are the main players within the expanding fuel cell components market?

 

 

This report gives a breakdown of the key components within a fuel cell, detailing the incumbent materials and technologies used in each instance. Analysis of supply chains and major players within the industry builds an overview of the market as a whole. However, even for the incumbent materials, there is still scope for variations to the technology based on materials selection. Taking the example of BPPs, typical material choice includes plates made from either metal (e.g. titanium, stainless steel) or graphite. This report provides benchmarking of metal and graphite plates, highlighting the particular vehicle types (passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses alongside ships and trains) for which each material is most well suited.

 

Despite dominant incumbent materials, such as Nafion for ionomer membranes, disruptive technologies are beginning to emerge, showing signs of early promise, while potential regulations restricting PFAS materials could heavily impact the market. Novel materials, coatings and manufacturing techniques are seen at academic stage, with some early commercial uptake, and analysis of these disruptions to the incumbent are included in this report. A comprehensive analysis of alternative polymer exchange membranes was carried out and these are benchmarked against the incumbent, Nafion, for the most important parameters to ensure optimal performance of the fuel cell.

 

 

FCEVs are yet to achieve similar market penetration seen for battery electric vehicles (BEV), and while IDTechEx expects BEVs to dominate the zero-emission vehicles market, the drive towards zero-emission vehicles is expected to see FCEVs capture a growing share of the overall vehicles sector. In particular, FCEVs show promise for the heavy-duty sector, powering trucks, ships and trains that can operate as hub-to-hub connectors for the supply chain, mitigating the need for a diverse hydrogen fuel infrastructure. This increasing market share will see higher material demand for all of the components within PEM fuel cells, and a major outcome of this will be a reduction in cost of components as the economy of scale takes hold.

 

This report outlines several paths by which the cost of components will reduce, from optimisation of incumbent technology to emerging materials and automated manufacturing systems. For the case of BPP materials, a detailed overview is given of the diverse range of manufacturers and the various materials and manufacturing techniques currently implemented, and those that are proposed, with a discussion of the related price progression per plate as wider-scale uptake of fuel cell powered transportation occurs.

 

 

As governments seek to enact policy to assist the implementation of zero emission vehicles, specifically in urban environments, several government agencies have set targets for manufacturers and material suppliers to work towards, with the overall goal of reducing the cost of fuel cell technology to enable competition with BEVs and traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, while fuel cells will also compete for zero-emission stationary power applications. This report covers the manner in which these targets impact the materials market for fuel cells, such as how US Department of Energy's (DOE) targets for the mass of catalyst in fuel cells is influencing the areas of material R&D.

 

Other factors driving R&D include the economic value of materials and efficiency of the fuel cell stack. The manner in which emerging materials can replace platinum in the fuel cell and reduce the cost of the catalyst (and CCM) is covered in the report, while the desire to increase the power density of the stack by reducing the form factor of components is most clearly evident in the development of thinner BPPs. The report covers novel coating techniques and manufacturing methods for producing these plates.

 

 

IDTechEx covers the electric vehicle industry comprehensively, detailing BEVs and FCEVs, alongside ships and trains; with the FCEV research segmented by passenger car, light commercial vehicle (van), heavy duty trucks and city buses. Coverage of the stationary fuel cell market covers a range of fuel cell types, including PEMs. Expertise on technical and market developments is built through interviewing major players on the global scale and attending several conferences.

 

This report offers granular 10-year market forecasts, derived from IDTechEx forecasts in the FCEV industry, for the materials demand for PEMFCs in transportation applications for key fuel cell components (BPP, GDL, CCM, MEA, ionomer, etc) segmented by mode of transport and vehicle type. Forecasts are given for materials demand for components by both units and volume, while detailing the value associated with each of these components.

 

This report provides the following information:

 

Technology trends:

 

Value chain analysis:

 

Market Forecasts & Analysis:

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