TPACTechnology Policy and Assessment Center
 
 

R&D Profile

Table of Contents

This section provides a profile of fuel cell research and development, with emphasis on the question: "What does fuel cell research look like?"

Fig 1: Fuel Cell Research Domains

Fig. 1 displays the research domains for fuel cell technology.  Research and development on fuel cell technology is dominated by the disciplines of Electrical Engineering (EE) and Chemical Engineering.  Not surprisingly, nearly all documents (94.56%) were at least partially classified under a related EE domain, primarily attributable to research on the electrochemistry associated with electric power generation.  General research in chemical engineering (67.88%) broadly covers the chemical agents, products, and processes used by fuel cells. Approximately one-fifth of all documents are classified under Engineering Physics (18.07%) and Fuel Technology (17.40%), both serving as significant supporting research domains.

Traditional engineering disciplines comprise the majority of the remaining research classifications. These include Mechanical Engineering, Plant and Power (14.05%); Chemical Engineering, Process Industries; Heat and Thermodynamics (9.11%). The use of specific materials and doping additives represent a significant area of research in Metallurgical Engineering, Metal Groups (12.78%) and Metallurgical Engineering, General (8.30%).

The largest application domains fall under Aerospace Engineering (7.94%), reflecting interest in fuel cell-powered spacecraft; Electronics and Communication Engineering (6.92%); and Automotive Engineering (3.74%). Interest in the development of cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally conscious fuel cells can be seen in the sizeable research in Engineering Management (8.44%); and Pollution, Sanitary Engineering, Wastes (4.17%). In an effort to improve performance, advanced technologies such as electron microscopy are being applied to fuel cells in the areas of Instruments and Measurement (4.98%), and simulation and modelling using Computers and Data Processing (4.13%).

Fuel cell research can be further classified into twenty smaller domains (<3%), each representing a particular area of application. The diverse applications range from Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering; Transportation; Bioengineering; and Engineering Geology.

Fuel cell research can be analyzed through a secondary analysis of keywords. Keywords were classified into one of four dimensions:

  • Technology (T): Fuel cells and their supporting component technologies (e.g., Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC); electrodes; anodes)
  • Material (M): General and specific materials including fuel and additives (e.g., Electrolytes; platinum; yttria-stabilized zirconia)
  • Application (A): Specific application of fuel cell technology, application domain, and delivery system concerns (e.g., Electric power generation; spacecraft; marketing)
  • Process and Basic Science (P): Processes and basic sciences in fuel cell research (e.g., Electrochemistry; catalysis; oxidation)

Fig.2: Fuel Cell Research Dimensions

Fig. 2 reveals that research along these four dimensions (TMAP) has been consistent across time. The trend in relative TMAP research indicates a fairly evenly distributed percentage across all four dimensions, with the range falling between 18-37%. Research tends to favor the Technology dimension most (around 35%); with a slight increasing trend in Process and Basic Sciences. Contrary to expectation, Application is declining relative to the other research dimensions.

Fig. 3: Fuel Cell Research - Co-classification Map

The structure of fuel cell research can be characterized using cluster analysis techniques.  Principle components analysis was applied to group 254 class codes into 35 factors. The resulting groups were in concert with ENGI's domain-level classifications. The relative cluster size is a representation of total documents associated with a particular research domain. The distance measures and links reflect the relatedness of each cluster.