Fuel Cell Humidifier Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Report Code: ESR 0750 Report Format: PDF + Excel

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Overview

The Fuel Cell Humidifier market size in 2021 is estimated to be $141.5 million and is projected to reach $657.2 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 30.25% during the forecast period 2022-2027. A fuel cell humidifier protects the fuel cell membranes against drying out. In addition, the humidifiers, provides humidity by transferring water vapor from the exhaust air to the intake air compressor. The growing expansions in the fuel cell  and hydrogen fuel cars manufacturing units owing to the stringent environmental regulations is set to boost the fuel cell membrane humidifier industry thereby elevating its market growth. Apart from this, the growing government investment in the transportation sector is set to drive its market growth. As a part of this, in February 2021, China invested $29.56 billion in fixed assets in transportation, a year-on-year increase of 42.1% and 13.8% compared to 2020 and 2019.

Report Coverage

The report: “Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Fuel Cell Humidifier market
By Type: Recirculating Humidifier, Hollow Fiber Membrane Humidifier, Flat Membrane Humidifier
By Humidification Type: Gas to Gas, Water to Gas
By Fuel Cell Power Range: <1KW, 1 to 10 KW, 10 to 100 KW, > 100 KW
By Humidification Method: Internal Humidification, External Humidification
By Application: Automotive, Transportation, Defense, Marine, Backup Power, Material Handling and Others
By Geography: North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), South America (Brazil, Argentina and others), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Others), APAC (China, Japan India, SK, Aus and Others), and RoW (Middle east and Africa)

Key Takeaways

  • The growing number of companies offering water to gas humidification is set to boost its market growth in the future. For instance, Perma Pure offers water to gas humidifiers such as Monotube Humidifier Series and FC Series.
  • Growing automotive industry coupled with the growing demand of fuel cell humidifiers in order to ensure that the system is hydrated to function properly is set to influence the prices of fuel cell humidifiers. For instance according to  International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE), as of November 2019, 13 member countries collectively reported a total of more than 15,800 fuel cell cars, 2,980 fuel cell buses, 1,200 fuel cell trucks, 26,800 fuel cell powered forklifts, and 370 hydrogen fuelling stations currently or soon to be deployed.
  • Moreover, in the year 2020, fuel cell humidifiers manufacturers and related businesses were expected to witness record sales with few elements of drawbacks, such as the inability to manufacture as production plants were ordered to shut down  to reduce spreading of the virus. The lack of adequate production facilities for large-scale production and distribution of fuel cell humidifiers products in emerging economies can restrict market player’s footprint. As a result, players concentrate more on establishing facilities that can address this issue and allow for unrestricted global distribution.
  • Off-the-shelf Fuel cell humidifiers are available currently for a price of around $488 for 250W, $886 for $1.5kW and around $1,140 for 5kW.  As can be noticed, the price per watt is decreasing as the power range increases, thus showing that the effective price will be very low at higher power ranges (100kW- 200kW), which is needed for automotive fuel cells.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market, By Region, 2021

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Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Segment Analysis – By Type

By Type, flat membrane humidifier accounted for major share in 2021. This segment generated a revenue of $78.6m in 2021 and is forecast to be growing at a fastest CAGR of 26.22% during the forecast period 2022-2027. This segment is projected to generate revenue of $303.1 million by 2027. This is mainly owing to the growing strategies adopted by key players in order to expand its product portfolio. For instance, in September 2019, Valmet Automotive founded the center of competence fuel cell under the umbrella of its Business Line Engineering. In addition, the company is currently planning to develop the flat-membrane humidifier to series maturity. Adding to this, the growth in the investments and expansions in the electric vehicle manufacturing units is set to drive the market growth rate. In November 2019, Volkswagen announced that it began the construction of its electric vehicle production facility in Tennessee, US, with an estimated investment of $800M.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Segment Analysis – By End Use Industry

The growing automotive and aerospace industry coupled with the wide usage of internal humidification process without which the fuel cells becomes too dry and reduces the proton transport in the fuel stack and decreases the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode resulting in poor fuel cell function or even failure is influencing its market growth. Transportation generated revenue of $46.7m in 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 28.56% during the forecast period 2022-2027. This segment is forecast to reach revenue of $200.4m by 2027. The growing government investment in the transportation sector is expected to boost its market in the upcoming years. As a part of this, India has historically invested about 1% of GDP in transportation infrastructure while China increased its investments from 4.7% of GDP in 2014 to 6.9% in 2019. Even developed nations that have more mature infrastructure such as France and Japan spend about 1% of their GDP on transportation infrastructure every year.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

APAC is analyzed to be the dominant region owing to the large automotive industry in the region. Adding to this, China and Japan are the major countries contributing to the market in the region with significant consumer demand for vehicles. Moreover, In October 2020, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed to provide US$ 1 billion (Rs. 7,400 crore) to SBI (State Bank of India) for funding the manufacturing and sales business of suppliers and dealers of Japanese automobile manufacturers and provide auto loans for the purchase of Japanese automobiles in India. Hence, such fundings in the region is estimated to fuel its market growth. Apart from this, the growing sales of passenger and commercial vehicle in India is set to drive its market growth in the future. For instance, In FY21, passenger vehicles sales reached 27.11 lakhs units, two-wheelers reached 151.19 lakhs units, commercial vehicles sales reached 5.69 lakhs units and for three-wheelers it was 2.16 lakhs units. China in Asia-Pacific is projected to grow fastest, with a CAGR of 27.18% during the forecast of 2022-2027.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Drivers

Increase in demand for fuel-efficient, high-performance, and low-emission vehicles

Because gasoline is a fossil fuel, it is not a renewable source of energy and will eventually run out. To support sustainable growth, it is critical to develop and utilise alternative fuel sources. This entails the use of hydrogen fuel cell automobiles, as well as electric vehicles that do not require gasoline and are more cost effective than traditional vehicles. An electric vehicle, for example, transfers almost 50% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels, whereas a gas-powered vehicle translates only around 17%–21% of the energy contained in fuel. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are more efficient than internal combustion engines and hybrid vehicles, with a 60-70 percent efficiency advantage over the other two. Due to the recent increase in the price of gasoline and diesel, the demand for fuel-efficient automobiles has surged. This is also related to the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and an increase in firms' desire to maximise profits from these reserves. As a result of these considerations, the demand for sophisticated fuel-efficient technologies is increasing, resulting in a surge in demand for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for transportation.

Rapid R&D to propel the adoption of hydrogen fuels

The benefits of hydrogen fuel cells in the vehicle sector have been widely publicized. The process of splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, on the other hand, is costly, which makes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles unaffordable. Scientists have been working nonstop to develop a low-cost technique of producing hydrogen energy. According to a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Swinburne University of Technology and Griffith University were able to capture hydrogen by splitting it from water molecules with the use of cheap metals like iron and nickel as catalysts. The usage of these metals improves the chemical process while lowering the amount of energy required. Precious metals including ruthenium, iridium, and platinum were previously used as catalysts in this process. However, the widely found metals on Earth, iron and nickel, may easily substitute the benchmark catalysts. The study provided a low-cost method of developing hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Challenges

Car Model And Refueling Prices Remain Big Issues

Safety is a problem since hydrogen, like gasoline and lithium-ion batteries, is combustible. The transfer of hydrogen for use at refueling stations adds to the dangers, as stations use sensors to detect leakage. In California, there have been no severe incidents, and the industrial sector has been carrying hydrogen for decades. Alternative-fueled vehicles, which include hydrogen fuel cells and battery-powered electric vehicles, are not more dangerous than traditional internal combustion engines, according to the National Fire Protection Association. According to the NFPA, a car fire from an internal combustion engine vehicle occurs every three minutes in the United States. The most significant stumbling block, though, may be financial. In California, the average price for hydrogen fuel is around $16/kg – gasoline is sold by the gallon (volume), while hydrogen is sold by the kilogramme (weight). To put this into perspective, 1 gallon of gasoline contains roughly the same amount of energy as 1 kilogramme of hydrogen. Most fuel cell electric cars carry roughly 5 kg to 6 kg of hydrogen yet travel twice as far as a modern internal combustion engine car with equal petrol in the tank, equating to $5 to $6 per gallon of gasoline.

Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Landscape

The  Fuel Cell Humidifier market is moderately consolidated with key players are adopting strategies such as acquisition, product launches and others with the players  and companies prevalent in the market. The top companies present in the market include the below.

  • Freudenberg Filtration Technologies
  • MANN+HUMMEL
  • Perma Pure
  • Kolon Industries
  • Enprise Corp.
  • CellKraft
  • Fumatech
  • Zehnder
  • Permselect
  • Pentair

Recent Developments

  • In June 2021, Kolon Industries announced it has signed a contract to supply its advanced moisture control unit to Hyundai Motor`s hydrogen mobility that includes the New Nexo, which will be rolled out in 2023. 
  • In September 2020, Freudenberg entered into a partnership with truck conversion company Quantron AG on the cooperation for emission-free-heavy-duty transport. In addition, they will also work to develop a special fuel cell system, that soon it will also be tested in real life on the road.

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1. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Overview
    1.1 Definitions and Scope
2. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market - Executive Summary
3. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market –Comparative Analysis
    3.1 Product Benchmarking - Key companies
    3.2 Financials Analysis - Key Companies
    3.3 Market Share Analysis- Key Companies
    3.4 Patent Analysis
    3.5 Pricing Analysis
4. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market- Startup companies Scenario Premium
    4.1 Key Startup Company Analysis by
        4.1.1 Investment
        4.1.2 Revenue
        4.1.3 Application Analysis
        4.1.4 Venture Capital and Funding Scenario
5. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – Industry Market Entry Scenario Premium
    5.1 Regulatory Framework Overview
    5.2 New Business and Ease of Doing business index
    5.3 Case Studies of Successful Ventures
6. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Forces
    6.1 Market Drivers
    6.2 Market Constraints
    6.3 Porters Five Force Model
        6.3.1 Bargaining power of suppliers
        6.3.2 Bargaining powers of customers
        6.3.3 Threat of new entrants
        6.3.4 Rivalry among existing players
        6.3.5 Threat of substitutes
7. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market -Strategic analysis
    7.1 Value chain analysis
    7.2 Opportunities analysis
    7.3 Market life cycle
8. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – By Type (Market Size –$Million/$Billion)
    8.1 Recirculating Humidifier
    8.2 Hollow Fiber Membrane Humidifier
    8.3 Flat Membrane Humidifier
9. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – By Humidification Type (Market Size –$Million/$Billion)
    9.1 Gas to Gas
    9.2 Water to Gas
10. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – By Fuel Cell Power Range (Market Size –$Million/$Billion)
    10.1 <1kW
    10.2 1kW to 10kW
    10.3 10kW to 100kW
    10.4 > 100kW
11. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – By Method of Humidification (Market Size –$Million/$Billion)
    11.1 Internal Humidification
        11.1.1 Special Stack Design
        11.1.2 Direct Liquid Injection
        11.1.3 Membrane Additive
        11.1.4 Wicks, Sponges & Porous Plates
    11.2 External Humidification
        11.2.1 Bubbler Humidifier
        11.2.2 Enthalpy Wheel Humidifier
        11.2.3 Membrane Based Humidifier
12. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – By Application (Market Size –$Million/$Billion)
    12.1 Automotive
        12.1.1 Commercial Vehicles
        12.1.2 Passenger Vehicles
    12.2 Transportation
    12.3 Defense
    12.4 Marine
    12.5 Backup Power
        12.5.1 Stationary
        12.5.2 Portable
        12.5.3 Emergency
    12.6 Material Handling
    12.7 Others
13. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market - By Geography (Market Size -$Million/$Billion)
    13.1 North America
        13.1.1 U.S.
        13.1.2 Canada
        13.1.3 Mexico
    13.2 South America
        13.2.1 Brazil
        13.2.2 Argentina
        13.2.3 Colombia
        13.2.4 Rest of South America
    13.3 Europe
        13.3.1 U.K.
        13.3.2 Germany
        13.3.3 France
        13.3.4 Italy
        13.3.5 Belgium
        13.3.6 Rest of Europe
    13.4 Asia-Pacific
        13.4.1 China
        13.4.2 Japan
        13.4.3 South Korea
        13.4.4 India
        13.4.5 Australia & New Zealand
        13.4.6 Rest of Asia-Pacific
    13.5 RoW
        13.5.1 Middle East
        13.5.2 Africa
14. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market - Entropy
15. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market – Key Company List by Country Premium
16. Fuel Cell Humidifier Market Company Analysis
    16.1 Company Revenue, Products, M&A, Developments
    16.2 Company 1
    16.3 Company 2
    16.4 Company 3
    16.5 Company 4
    16.6 Company 5
    16.7 Company 6
    16.8 Company 7
    16.9 Company 8
    16.10 Company 9
    16.11 Company 10
*Financials for private companies would be provided on a best efforts basis”.