A new Pike Research report says fuel cells are an increasingly important part of military energy strategy and the “escalating adoption of fuel cells will create a $1.2 billion market for military fuel cells by 2017 up from only $9 million in 2011.”

Analysis in the report, Fuel Cells For Military Applications, indicates the largest opportunity for military fuel cells lies with soldier-wearable and -portable power applications for devices such as radios, ruggedized computers, and night-vision goggles, in which fuel cells are primarily used as a replacement for portable batteries.

The firm forecasts that this category will represent more than 50 percent of the total military fuel cell market by 2017, a summary on the company website, www.pikeresearch.com, said.  The second largest category will be remote sensors and surveillance devices such as unmanned ground sensors (UGS).

“Performance is the most powerful driving force for the adoption of fuel cells by the world’s armed forces,” research analyst Euan Sadden said in a statement. “Enhancing the overall capabilities and performance of the U.S. armed forces is the leading priority for U.S. military agencies in considering new technologies and products for funding and potential integration into various military systems. Low noise and low heat signature represent two good examples, providing specific benefits to military users that may not be as important to other customers. Overall, though, the most attractive attribute of fuel cell systems is their high energy density, particularly when compared to standard military batteries.”

However, formidable barriers still face fuel cell manufacturers in their pursuit of the military market, Sadden said. Cost, durability, supply chain shortfalls, fuel availability, and serviceability are all factors that will pose serious challenges in the years ahead. Military users are the world’s most demanding customers for fuel cells and, while they will be less price sensitive than the commercial market in the near term, their performance and production scale requirements may ultimately prove too high a hurdle for some vendors to overcome, the report said.