Due to the increasing concerns being raised over the rapid environmental degradation in several countries, the demand for eco-friendly energy sources is rising rapidly across the world. Moreover, the governments of many countries are implementing strict regulations and policies for mitigating the utilization of non-renewable energy sources for power generation. This is fueling the development and the growing popularity of alternative and environment-friendly energy sources such as the fuel cell technology.
In countries such as the U.S., Germany, and Japan, the regulatory authorities are enacting strict regulations for reducing the emission of toxic gases from various industries such as automotive, chemicals, and power generation. Moreover, as this technology exhibits high efficiency in power generation, it is increasingly being adopted in stationary power production processes. This technology also offers various other advantages such as very low levels of sulfur oxide (Sox) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and high fuel adaptability.
Furthermore, the mushrooming requirement for planar solid oxide fuel cells in several industries is causing a sharp surge in their sales across the world. Besides these factors, the ballooning requirement for these cells in the oil and gas industry is also creating lucrative growth opportunities for the planar solar oxide fuel cell-producing companies around the world. This is, in turn, fueling the expansion of the global planar solid oxide fuel cell market.
Separator plates, planar cells, seals, and manifolds are the main components used in planar solar oxide fuel cells. Out of these, the demand for planar cells was found to be the highest in the world during the last few years and this trend is predicted to continue in the coming years. Planar cells are the primary components in a planar solar oxide fuel cell and are therefore, required extensively in these cells.