Fuel cells

From research to application -  development of fuel cells for commercial applications - participation in the IEA "Advanced Fuel Cells Technology Collaboration Programme"

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has focused its research on fuel cell systems since 1990 with the establishment of the Implementing Agreement on Advanced Fuel Cells (IA AFC) - now the Technology Collaboration Program (AFC TCP). Austria joined this program in 2004.

National and international research, institutions, manufacturers and energy suppliers have been driving the development of fuel cells forward in recent years. In 2021, the installed capacity worldwide has increased by around 1,000 MW compared to the previous year to around 2,300 MW

It should be noted that the momentum of developments in recent years has been driven very strongly by the Asian region. Prior to this, the North American countries of the USA and Canada were at the forefront in terms of innovation momentum and market implementation. Europe has been able to catch up in recent years thanks to several funding programs (such as the Clean Hydrogen Undertaking¹). The IEA AFC TCP takes this into account. The most important countries (including one sponsor) from the three regions of North America, Asia and Europe are participating in the IEA AFC TCP (see figure below).

The main goal of international cooperation was and is the development of a highly efficient fuel cell for low-emission drive systems and stationary energy systems that is ready for series production. International successes and progress in this area are gradually becoming visible: promising projects are currently underway in various regions of the world. For a long time, the focus was on stationary applications (combined heat and power plants, UPS and emergency power supply systems), but in recent years there has been a strong trend towards hydrogen-based mobile applications (buses, trucks, cars). Portable systems were considered to have great application potential in the mid (20)00s, but this has not been realized in the last two decades - apart from niche applications.

The focus of the IEA AFC TCP goes hand in hand with the priorities of international developments. The focus is on accelerating the technological development of key components and systems. At the same time, the main focus is on the further development of the regulatory and political framework conditions so that the market implementation of fuel cells can be further advanced.

In order to carry out the various activities as effectively as possible, the IEA TCP AFC is structured in 8 tasks:

Austria is represented in the Task: Polymer Electrolye Fuel Cells (Task 31) and in the Task: Fuel Cells for Portable Applications (Task 34) by the TU-Graz. The Austrian Energy Agency represents Austria in the Task: Stationary Applications (Task 33), Hy-Cent A is active in the Transportation Task (Task 34). It should be noted that Task 35 was completed in July 2022.

Further information

Website of the IEA Advanced Fuel Cells Technology Collaboration Program

Platform for hydrogen - hypa

Stationary fuel cell

Decentralized hydrogen­solutions in climate-neutral districts

This project is being carried out as part of the IEA research cooperation on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology