Niche Entry As A Route To Mainstream Innovation: Learning From The Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell In Stationary Power

摘要

It is discussed that the traditional electricity generation has been the source for all kinds of applications and has become embedded in social, economic and environmental structures. However, innovation in renewable energy technologies has resulted in different types of fuel cells as an alternative in stationary power generation. The varying application of six different types of fuel cells is discussed. However, a deeper analysis is made about the case of the phosphoric acid fuel cell, the first fuel cell type to be commercially developed for medium-scale electricity generation. The efforts being undertaken to find a viable niche and the issues of how this might take fuel cells from the niche to the mainstream through learning effects are presented. (74 refs.)