The market demand is increasingly strong and the industrialization development process of membrane electrode (MEA) is accelerating.

Membrane electrode (MEA) is an electrode composed of three basic components: catalyst, proton exchange membrane, and gas diffusion layer. The membrane electrode is the core place for electrons, protons, gases and other material transmission and electrochemical reactions. It determines the stack performance, service life, output performance, reaction efficiency, etc. of the fuel cell. In recent years, with the development of the fuel cell market, the market has continuously released demand for membrane electrodes with high performance, low platinum loading, low cost and long life.

Membrane electrode raw materials involve proton exchange membranes, carbon paper, platinum catalysts, etc. In terms of technology, membrane electrode technology has gone through three generations of innovation. Among them, the first generation hot-pressed membrane electrode (GDE) has been basically eliminated, and the second generation CCM membrane electrodes have achieved mass production and have the highest degree of commercialization. The third generation of ordered membrane electrodes is currently a hot research topic in membrane electrode manufacturing, and only a small number of companies have achieved mass production.

Membrane electrode market demand mainly comes from the field of fuel cells. Under the dual-carbon background, the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries have issued plans related to fuel cell development, and the development of the fuel cell industry will accelerate. Fuel cells are relatively mature in vehicle applications. Driven by policies, the number of fuel cell vehicles in my country continues to grow. As of June 2022, the number of fuel cell vehicles promoted in my country will reach more than 10,000. The rapid increase in the volume of fuel cell vehicles will inevitably drive the expansion of the fuel cell industry. As the core component of fuel cells, membrane electrodes will usher in an explosive period of market demand.

According to the “2023-2027 China Membrane Electrode Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Thanks to the rapid development of the fuel cell industry, the demand for membrane electrodes continues to be released. In order to meet the market demand, domestic companies including Hongji Innovation, Qingdong Technology, Wuhan Polytechnic Hydrogen, Shanghai Tangfeng Energy, Taiji Power, etc. The scale of membrane electrode production has been expanded, and the development of membrane electrode industrialization has been accelerated.

The membrane electrode preparation process is complex, and the product development cycle is long and the capital investment is large. There are high barriers to entry in the industry. In the global market, membrane electrode suppliers mainly include DuPont of the United States, Gore, and Ballard of Canada. With the advancement of technology, the performance of domestic membrane electrodes has gradually reached the international level. However, there is still a certain gap between it and the international advanced level in terms of platinum loading, cold start, catalysts, etc. Therefore, the demand for high-end membrane electrodes still relies on imports, and there is broad room for domestic substitution in the future.

Industry analysts said that membrane electrodes are the core components of fuel cells. Under the dual-carbon background, the development of the fuel cell industry has accelerated, providing To meet the growing market demand, domestic membrane electrode companies have expanded production, and the membrane electrode industry has broad prospects for development in the future. my country is a major producer of fuel cells. However, due to technical limitations, there is still a certain gap between domestic membrane electrodes and international advanced products. High-end membrane electrodes urgently need localization breakthroughs.