Japanese market researcher Fuji Kaizai announced yesterday the findings of its report into the market performance and prospects of fuel cell technologies, reflecting a positive outlook for the nascent vehicular fuel cell market.

In a 272-page report published only in Japanese and carried by the Fuel Cell Works site, Fuji Kaizai forecasted that proton-exchange membrane fuel cells for use in automobiles would reach some 900 billion yen ($8.5 billion) by the year 2020.

With all the different sectors of fuel cell technology taken into account, the report predicted that collectively the market is expected to reach a significant 282.8 billion yen ($2.67 billion) by 2015 and around 1,200 billion yen ($11.32 billion) by 2020.

The growing commercial interest in the clean, zero-emission fuel and power sources offered by hydrogen fuel cell technology are reflected in the ongoing work of Japanese automotive giant Toyota, which is currently developing and testing a number of fuel cell vehicles for future commercial use.

The growth forecasts given for the fuel cell market take into account the growing environmental issues which will help to propel the sector growth, and government measures designed to promote fuel cell development.