Fuel cells taking-off in Japan

Popular because they can withstand disasters.

Fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy Japan Ltd. said Japan’s fuel-cell market is currently led by individual users with small systems in their homes. Bloom Energy Japan is targeting larger power consumers such as office buildings, factories and data centers.

“Utilities in the centralized power distribution system will remain the main player,” said Shigeki Miwa, chief executive officer of the company. “But people have realized that is not enough. So it is good to have decentralized power distribution that can complement the system.”

Bloom Energy Japan, a venture between Softbank Corporation, a leading Japanese mobile operator, and Bloom Energy Corporation of the U.S., was formed in July to supply power from Bloom’s fuel cells to customers in Japan.

Bloom’s units generate electricity from gas without burning the fuel, a more efficient process that produces fewer carbon emissions. Fuel cells cut the risk of blackouts such as those that occurred in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011 because they aren’t dependent on centralized power plants.

The global fuel-cell market for commercial and industrial use will jump to US$7.4 billion by fiscal 2025 from US$360 million in fiscal 2011.