Technological change in fuel cell technologies

Abstract Hydrogen economy is at a crucial point. The market demands clean and sustainable energy and fuel cell technologies look viable and quite appealing for a broad range of applications. Moreover, fuel cells are not only clean but also efficient and flexible and, among them, solid oxide fuel cells are very promising. The main problem is to understand which development stage various fuel cell technologies have reached and their yearly performance improvement rates. This information can provide insight into the barriers and the key drivers of innovation of the different types of fuel cells. Furthermore the differences in performance improvement rates could suggest the research direction that the fuel cell industry is taking. In a few words, the combination of patent analysis, bibliometrics, and rationalization of fuel cell technologies can help us to have a complete picture of their technological development. This chapter aims at providing such an overview.