The government will establish a research and development strategic alliance for domestic manufacturers of fuel cells and hydrogen energy to foster what it sees as a “promising” industry in the coming decades, Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said yesterday.
The idea was proposed by the ministry’s Bureau of Energy at a conference about fuel cell and hydrogen energy development attended by government officials and business leaders from related fields. The proposal was unanimously welcomed by local cell makers, a conference organizer said.
GUIDELINES
The conference also proposed development guidelines for the fuel cell-related industry.
These include measures such as reallocating R&D resources to develop key components and materials, helping to integrate up, mid, and down-stream manufacturers in Taiwan, interlinking domestic makers with global fuel-cell supply chains and establishing a world-class certification and accrediAtation platform for products.
BEST ALTERNATIVE
To date, fuel cells are the best alternative in power generation and storage in terms of energy conversion ratio, pollutants produced and diversity in fuel materials, bureau officials said.
They added that the global fuel-cell market is expected to expand rapidly in the next two decades.
Bureau estimates say the annual output value of the domestic fuel cell industry will reach NT$4 billion (US$131 million) in 2011. The figure is expected to exceed NT$13 billion in 2016 and come close to NT$100 billion in 2020.
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