A solid oxide fuel cell is a device that produces electricity directly from the electrochemical oxidation of the fuel. It uses the electrochemical conversion process in which an electrolyte material, which is generally a solid or ceramic material, is placed between the positive and negative electrodes (anode and cathode, respectively). SOFCs have a wide variety of applications, from stationary power generation to auxiliary power units in vehicles with outputs from 100 W to 2 MW. SOFCs can have multiple geometries, unlike most of the other types of fuel cells. The planer fuel cell is a kind of sandwich design, in which an electrolyte is inserted in between the electrodes. SOFCs can also be made in tubular geometries where either air or fuel is passed through the inside, and the other gas along the outside of the tube.

The global solid oxide fuel cell market is valued at USD 403.4 Million in 2017. Government subsidies and fuel cell programs in Japan and North America, along with growing demand for efficient power generation are the major drivers for the growth of the solid oxide fuel cell market. The report segments the solid oxide fuel cell market, by type, into planar and tubular. Planar type dominated the solid oxide fuel cell market in 2016 due to product offering of planar type being the most commonly used for the power generation application. Based on application, the solid oxide fuel cell is segmented into power generation, combined heat and power, military, and others. The power generation application dominated the solid oxide fuel cell market mainly due to high demand for distributed power generation for commercial and retail and data centers end-use in the North American region. The application segment has been further sub-segmented by end-use. The power generation segment has been sub-segmented into data centers, commercial and retail, and telecom. Combined heat and power has been sub-segmented into commercial and residential end-us e; military segment in to stationary power generation and portable and unmanned systems; and others segment includes transportation auxiliary power units and remote emergency power. In this report, the solid oxide fuel cell market has been analyzed with respect to three regions, namely, North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The market in North America is expected to lead the global solid oxide fuel cell market during the forecast period due to increasing demand for efficient power generation and government subsidies. Rising demand for distributed power generation in North America and Asia Pacific, increasing adoption of solid oxide fuel cells in data centers, and military sector and development of hybrid-SOFC technologies could lead to opportunities for the solid oxide fuel cell market. High capital costs and competition from other fuel cell technologies, such as PEMFC could be a restraint to the growth of the solid oxide fuel cell market.

In recent years, the solid oxide fuel cell market companies were focused on contracts & agreements as a key strategy to increase their market share and business presence, globally. Mergers & acquisitions and collaborations were the second most followed strategy, by leading industry players to cater to the increasing demand for solid oxide fuel cells.

Visionary leaders are the leading market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally. Visionary leaders primarily focus on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity.

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product.

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. The companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders.

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market.