The fuel cell commercial vehicle market is expected to register a CAGR of over 45%, during the forecast period, 2020-2025.

  • Some of the major factors driving the growth of the market are enactment of stringent emission norms, growing mass urban transportation, and rising demand for alternate fuel vehicles, along with continuous government support. However, factors, such as environmental concerns related to hydrogen production, may hinder the growth of the market.
  • Some of the key players dominating the market studied are Toyota Motor Corp., New Flyer America, and Wrightbus, among others.
  • With fuel cell buses commercially being used in the United States, recently in February 2019, Ballard Power Systems announced that 40-foot and 60-foot Xcelsior fuel cell-electric buses (FCEBs), powered by Ballard FCveloCity-HD 85 kilowatt (kW) modules, had completed rigorous testing at the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center under a program established by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).



Key Market Trends

Enactment of Stringent Emission Norms for Commercial Vehicles

With the growing environmental concerns, governments and environmental agencies are enacting stringent emission norms and laws, which are expected to increase the manufacturing cost of fuel-efficient diesel engines in the coming years.

As a result, the new commercial vehicle diesel engines segment is expected to register a sluggish growth rate during the short-term, thereby, adding a slight increase to the demand from fuel cell commercial vehicles. Majority of the diesel engines can convert about 40%-46% of the fuel energy, while the remaining energy is lost in the environment as heat, through exhaust emissions and cooling systems. With the enactment of the Euro VI emission for heavy-duty engines, the burden on commercial vehicle manufacturers has further increased.

Additionally, in December 2000, the US EPA signed emission standards for the model year 2007, and later heavy-duty highway engines. The California Air Resource Board (CARB) adopted virtually identical 2007 heavy-duty engine standards in October 2001. The rule included two components: emission standards and diesel fuel regulations.

  • The emission standards included new and stringent limits for PM (0.01 g/bhp?hr) and NOx (0.20 g/bhp?hr)



In North America, the US GHG emissions and fuel efficiency standards for heavy- and medium-duty vehicles have been jointly developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

  • The NHTSA developed fuel consumption standards under the authority of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), while the EPA developed a GHG emissions program under the Clean Air Act.
  • The GHG program includes CO2 emission standards, emission standards for N2O and CH4, and provisions to control hydrofluorocarbon leaks from air conditioning systems.



In the United States, heavy-duty vehicles, such as combination tractors/trailers, vocational vehicles, heavy-duty pickup trucks, and vans, must achieve up to 27% CO2 emission reductions over the 2017 baselines by 2027.

North America is a Major Player in the Global Market

Buses and other commercial vehicles make up a small percentage of the vehicles on road; however, they cover more mileage annually than passenger cars, with much worse fuel economy. CARB estimates that eliminating emissions from buses will be the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off the road. Thus, with the continually rising environmental concerns, owing to increase in pollution from exhaust emissions, and for assurance of a sustainable future, the demand for zero-emission transport is accelerating.

As per the US Department of Energy, hydrogen is expected to join electricity as the major energy carrier, supplying every end-user energy need in the economy, including transportation, central and distributed electric power, portable power, and combined heat and power for buildings and industrial processes.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still in the stage of development, especially trucks. However, in case of buses, the country has been witnessing numerous developments, as the governments are focused toward reducing exhaust emissions by introducing and urging consumers to use environment-friendly transportation.

In the state of California, the government has introduced strict regulations to promote the use of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, and now it has started focusing on buses. According to the CARB, all new transit buses should produce zero emission by the beginning of 2029; and the regulator hopes to make the state’s entire bus fleet zero emission by 2040. As of February 1, 2019, the state of California has 30 FCEBs in operation, and 22 FCEBs and 4 fuel cell shuttles in the development stage.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the major companies that dominated the market studied are Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors, Nikola Motor Co., Kenworth Trucks, and Hyundai Motor.

The market is very competitive with limited players working in the sector. The market is majorly driven by the government projects, as the commercial usage is still very limited.

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