Contents
- Fuel cell deployments statistics: Global shipment volumes and capacity, 2014–2022
- Fuel cell deployments statistics: Annual shipment shares by application
- Fuel cell deployments statistics: Shipment capacity shares by application
- Fuel cell deployments statistics: Regional shares of fuel cell shipments
- Fuel cell deployments statistics: Regional shares of shipment capacity
- fuel cell deployments: European fuel cell fleet deployments by vehicle type in 2024
- Sources
Fuel cell deployments statistics: Global shipment volumes and capacity, 2014–2022
Annual fuel cell shipments measure systems shipped during a calendar year. They are a flow of products, not a count of all systems operating in the field. The global series reported by the European Hydrogen Observatory shows shipment units rising from 64k in 2014 to 89k in 2022, with variation in the intervening years. The same figure records total shipped capacity in megawatts. These two measures describe different aspects of the shipment market: unit counts register systems, while capacity records their rated power in aggregate. Neither series alone gives an installed fleet total. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, Figure A.1.1, p. 92
| Calendar year | Global shipment units | Shipped capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 64k | 185 MW |
| 2015 | 61k | 298 MW |
| 2016 | 63k | 517 MW |
| 2017 | 71k | 659 MW |
| 2018 | 69k | 806 MW |
| 2019 | 73k | 1,196 MW |
| 2020 | 82k | 1,337 MW |
| 2021 | 86k | 2,316 MW |
| 2022 | 89k | Not reported in this series |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, Figure A.1.1, p. 92
The unit sequence starts at 64k in 2014, moves to 61k in 2015 and 63k in 2016, then reaches 71k in 2017. Shipments are 69k in 2018 and 73k in 2019, before the reported totals of 82k in 2020, 86k in 2021 and 89k in 2022. This is a rising endpoint across the period, but not a year-by-year increase: the series includes declines between 2014 and 2015 and between 2017 and 2018.
The capacity values supplied for 2014–2021 move from 185 MW in 2014 to 298 MW in 2015, 517 MW in 2016, 659 MW in 2017, 806 MW in 2018, 1,196 MW in 2019, 1,337 MW in 2020 and 2,316 MW in 2021. The source series includes a 2022 units figure but the checked capacity observations do not include a 2022 value, so this table leaves that cell unreported. Capacity is presented in the source as MW, and those units are retained here. No inference about average system size is necessary to read the two series: one counts units shipped, the other reports capacity shipped.
The publication identifies the underlying market data as global and states that its global market dataset originates from the ERM Fuel Cell Industry Review. That review is also included among the supplied source references. The measured annual totals above are historical observations for 2014–2022; they do not describe 2026 activity or the current worldwide operating fleet. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, pp. 90, 92 Source: ERM, The Fuel Cell Industry Review 2022
Fuel cell deployments statistics: Annual shipment shares by application
The reported application breakdown tracks the share of shipment units assigned to stationary, transport and portable fuel cells. At the two documented endpoints, stationary systems account for 62% of units in 2014 and 57% in 2022. Transport’s reported share rises from 5% to 34%, while portable’s reported share moves from 33% to 9%. These are shares of shipment units, not shares of capacity or installed systems. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, p. 91, Figure A.1.2
| Application | 2014 share of units | 2022 share of units |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary | 62% | 57% |
| Transport | 5% | 34% |
| Portable | 33% | 9% |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 91, Figure A.1.2
The endpoint comparison shows a different mix by application: transport represents a larger share of unit shipments in 2022 than in 2014, while portable has a smaller share. Stationary remains the largest of the three listed categories at both endpoints. The figures should be read as shares within the reported shipment distribution, rather than as counts; this dataset does not provide the application-level unit totals needed to state how many systems each category represents in either year.
There is a geography ambiguity in the source. The appendix describes the market data as global, while the caption for Figure A.1.2 says “in Europe.” The accompanying narrative also describes the shares, but the figure caption creates a conflict about the scope of this breakdown. The values are therefore presented as reported application shares, with that inconsistency made explicit; they should not be treated as an unambiguous global or Europe-only series. The supplied observations establish endpoint shares for 2014 and 2022, not a complete annual application trend between them. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, pp. 91–92, Appendix A and Figure A.1.2
Fuel cell deployments statistics: Shipment capacity shares by application
Application shares based on capacity differ from shares based on unit counts. In 2014, stationary applications represented 80% of reported fuel cell shipment capacity and transport 20%. By 2022, stationary represented 15% and transport 85%. The denominator here is reported capacity in MW, rather than the number of systems. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, pp. 91–92, Figure A.1.2
| Application | 2014 share of capacity | 2022 share of capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary | 80% | 15% |
| Transport | 20% | 85% |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, pp. 91–92, Figure A.1.2
The contrast between the capacity and unit breakdowns is material to interpretation. Transport accounts for 34% of reported shipment units in 2022, while its share of reported capacity is 85%. These percentages have distinct denominators and should not be conflated. The source supports the shares, but the observations provided here do not give application-specific MW totals or unit totals from which to derive more detailed comparisons.
For capacity as for units, the appendix’s global-market description conflicts with the figure caption’s “in Europe” wording. The reported percentages are retained as printed and interpreted within that stated limitation. They support a comparison of the two recorded endpoints, not a claim about every year from 2014 through 2022 or an unqualified geographic trend. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, pp. 91–92, Appendix A and Figure A.1.2
Fuel cell deployments statistics: Regional shares of fuel cell shipments
The reported regional unit shares compare Asia, North America and Europe at 2014 and 2022. Asia accounts for 62% of shipment units in 2014 and 68% in 2022. North America’s share is 27% in 2014 and 16% in 2022. Europe’s is 9% and 15%, respectively. The table keeps the source’s unit-share denominator; these percentages are not capacity shares. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, p. 96, Figure A.1.4
| Region | 2014 share of units | 2022 share of units |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 62% | 68% |
| North America | 27% | 16% |
| Europe | 9% | 15% |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 96, Figure A.1.4
Across these listed regions, Asia has the largest reported share at both endpoints. Between the two reported years, the listed share for North America is lower and Europe’s is higher; the observations do not identify causes. They also do not provide a full year-by-year regional series in the checked values, so the endpoint comparison should not be read as a description of the path between 2014 and 2022.
As in the application figures, the source describes the appendix data as global but labels Figure A.1.4 “in Europe.” That internal scope conflict applies to the regional distribution and makes the intended geography uncertain. The values are included with the source’s wording preserved rather than assigned a definitive global or Europe-only interpretation. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 96, Appendix A and Figure A.1.4
Fuel cell deployments statistics: Regional shares of shipment capacity
The regional capacity distribution reports a different mix from the regional unit distribution. Asia accounts for 56% of reported fuel cell system capacity in 2014 and 71% in 2022. North America accounts for 38% in 2014 and 19% in 2022. Europe accounts for 5% and 9%. The reported measure is capacity share; the source narrative refers to fuel cell system MW and total capacity. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2024, p. 96, Figure A.1.4
| Region | 2014 share of capacity | 2022 share of capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 56% | 71% |
| North America | 38% | 19% |
| Europe | 5% | 9% |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 96, Figure A.1.4
Asia has the largest listed capacity share at both endpoints. The 2014 figures show North America with 38%, compared with 19% in 2022; Europe is reported at 5% and 9%. These are the source’s shares, and this article does not recalculate or normalize them. As with unit shares, the available observations establish two points in time rather than a continuous annual regional series.
The scope caveat is also relevant here: Appendix A calls the underlying market data global, but the figure caption says “in Europe.” Since the source’s own labels do not resolve the inconsistency, the percentages are best read as the report’s stated regional capacity shares with geographic scope qualified. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 96, Appendix A and Figure A.1.4
fuel cell deployments: European fuel cell fleet deployments by vehicle type in 2024
The 2025 European Hydrogen Observatory report counts registered fuel cell electric vehicles in the European fleet for 2024. This is fleet stock for a particular year, unlike the annual shipment flows in the earlier sections. The reported totals by vehicle type are 5,107 passenger cars (M1), 425 vans (N1), 613 buses (M2 & M3) and 364 trucks (N2 & N3). These categories retain the vehicle classifications and counts given by the report. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2025, p. 55, section 3.3.2
| Vehicle type | European fleet in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Passenger cars (M1) | 5,107 |
| Vans (N1) | 425 |
| Buses (M2 & M3) | 613 |
| Trucks (N2 & N3) | 364 |
Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 55, section 3.3.2
For passenger cars, the report identifies Germany at 1,858 vehicles in 2024, France at 1,001, the Netherlands at 632, Poland at 313, Switzerland at 289 and the United Kingdom at 270. These are country counts within the European registered M1 fleet. The data makes Germany the largest of these named country counts, followed by France and the Netherlands; it does not provide a complete country table in the checked observations. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 57, Figure 37 and accompanying text
The bus figures identify Germany with 151 vehicles, the United Kingdom with 99, Poland with 87, Norway with 66, the Netherlands with 64 and Italy with 57 in 2024. The report says Germany’s 151 buses represented 25% of the European total. These counts describe the M2 & M3 registered fleet. The source also gives year comparisons for selected rows, but the focus here is the stated 2024 count; values for other vehicle types or countries are not inferred. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, p. 59, Figure 39 and accompanying text
The 2024 figures are historical fleet observations reported in the November 2025 landscape, and they should not be presented as current 2026 fleet counts. They also use a different population and measure from the 2014–2022 shipment statistics: vehicle fleet counts cover registered European vehicles, whereas shipment totals record annual units or capacity shipped. Source: European Hydrogen Observatory, The European hydrogen market landscape, November 2025, pp. 55, 57, 59