Market Trends of Asia-Pacific Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Industry
Portable Segment to Dominate the Market
- A feat of miniaturization, the fuel cells are lightweight yet powerful and long-lasting. These fuel cells are leading the field in off-grid power & mobile applications for mission-critical communication, information technology, optronics, sensors, and auxiliary power. Fuel cells such as these rely on direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology, which transforms methanol directly into electrical current. Cartridges of liquid methanol make transporting the fuel from one location to another easy.
- A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts a fuel like methanol into electricity efficiently and cleanly without burning. Fuel cells are permanently installed in notebook computers where batteries are now found. Fuel for the fuel cell is provided by a small disposable cartridge inserted into the computer.
- The advantages of a fuel cell are longer-lasting power compared to a rechargeable battery, instantaneous recharging by simply replacing the disposable fuel cartridge, nontoxic disposal, and lightweight. As a result, many companies are developing methanol fuel cells as a new, clean alternative power source for portable electronic devices.
- Notebook computers and mobile phones powered by fuel cells are projected to use approximately 100 disposable fuel cartridges during their useful lives, creating a recurring and potentially very large revenue stream. It was predicted that up to 22% of notebook computers and 2.5% of mobile phones would be powered by fuel cells, resulting in an annual demand for more than three billion cartridges.
- A fuel cell or cartridge made from methanol is efficient, clean, and safe. It is approved to carry on airplanes by the International Civil Aviation Organization. As a result of these approvals, portable electronic device fuel cells are expected to be adopted more widely and more rapidly.
- An increasing number of portable consumer electronic devices rely on batteries, such as laptops, smartphones, digital cameras, and music players, which is expected to increase the demand for portable batteries worldwide. Moreover, with the increased shipments of consumer electronics, such as smart watches, wearable health monitoring devices, and smart glasses, portable batteries are expected to grow tremendously during the forecast period.
- Asia-Pacific is the major hotspot for portable batteries. The significant factor of this growth is the high consumption of smartphones and other mobile accessories. The region accounts for over 60% of the global population, and the countries in the region are developing, thereby causing more demand for smartphones, tablets, and other portable accessories.
- In 2021, the number of smartphones shipped across India reached 160.7 million, up from 149.7 million in the previous year. The growth rate from year to year was 7.3%.
- Therefore, owing to the above points, the portable segment is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period.
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China Expected to Dominate the Market
- In China, the market studied is mainly driven by the increasing deployment of electric vehicles and high demand for consumer electronics with urbanization and increasing power purchase parity.
- The future belongs to electric cars, and there is a hybrid system for extending their mileage. Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) provide safe, lightweight, onboard battery charging, freeing car owners from worrying about running out of power. An electric vehicle battery is used in the hybrid system, along with a fuel cell cartridge and DMFC fuel cell.
- China is the largest market for electric vehicles (EVs), with over 3.33 million EVs sold in 2021. It is expected to remain the world's largest electric car market. China accounted for almost 40% of global electric car sales in 2021.
- The increasing adoption of EVs is in line with the country's clean energy policy. The Government of China is planning to ease restrictions on automakers importing cars into the country to reduce the demand-supply gap.
- Policy developments include restricting investment in new internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicle manufacturing plants.
- Hence, with the increasing adoption of EVs and favorable government policies in the country, the use of direct methanol fuel cells is expected to increase as these cells can increase the range of the vehicle.
- Direct methanol fuel cells provide clean, quiet backup power for cellular base stations. The increasing penetration of telecommunication services provides an opportunity for the growth of the battery demand in the telecommunication segment in China. As of June 2022, 99.6% of internet users in China used mobile phones to access the internet. By the end of the first half of 2022, the number of mobile internet users in China had reached approximately 1.05 billion.
- Thus, with the rise in subscribers, the requirement for telecommunication towers in the country is expected to increase. It would foster the demand for fuel cells required for backup purposes.
- The abovementioned factors are expected to drive the demand for the direct methanol fuel cell market over the study period.
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