Fangzheng Securities: The SOFC industry accelerates development and focuses on parts and equipment opportunities

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Fangzheng Securities released a research report saying that solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) rely on the electrochemical reaction between fuel and oxygen to directly generate electricity. The operating range is 600℃ to 1000℃, and the power generation efficiency can reach up to 65%. It has advantages such as low emissions, quiet operation, and a wide range of fuel choices, and is mainly aimed at distributed fixed power generation scenarios. The bank pointed out that with the continuous expansion of energy consumption in data centers and AI computing power clusters, the supply pressure on traditional power grids is prominent. With its comprehensive performance advantages, SOFC has become an important distributed power supply solution for high energy consumption scenarios, and the industry is developing at an accelerated pace.

Fangzheng Securities's main views are as follows:

SOFC technology has remarkable features and is aimed at AI computing power distributed power supply scenarios

SOFC is a high-temperature electrochemical power generation device. Unlike the fuel combustion power generation model, it can achieve internal fuel reorganization. The power generation efficiency can reach up to 65%, and it has the advantages of low emissions, quiet operation, and a wide range of fuel choices. As the energy consumption of data centers and AI computing power clusters continues to expand, the supply pressure on traditional power grids is prominent. With its comprehensive performance advantages, SOFC has become an important distributed power supply solution for high energy consumption scenarios.

Demand for AI computing power is growing rapidly, and multiple external constraints are forcing new power supply solutions

Many agencies predict that demand for electricity in US data centers will continue to rise sharply, and electricity consumption may account for 9% to 17% of the nation's electricity consumption in 2030. In addition to the power supply gap, multiple bottlenecks, such as rising project construction costs, community approval, power grid transformation, supply of key equipment, and insufficient production capacity for EPC projects, limit the implementation of new production capacity in data centers. The industry urgently needs local power generation solutions that do not rely on traditional power grids and have a shorter construction cycle.

Compared with various fuel cell routes, SOFC has multiple differentiated competitive advantages

The fuel level is compatible with gas sources such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, natural gas, etc., and is resistant to carbon monoxide. The resistance to poisoning is superior to PEMFC and PAFC; the power generation efficiency is at a high level of mainstream fuel cells, and high-temperature waste heat can be recovered to achieve hierarchical energy utilization. High temperature reaction characteristics eliminate dependence on precious metal catalysts, there is no risk of liquid electrolyte corrosion, and air can be directly used as an oxidizer. At the same time, the system natively outputs DC power. When facing data centers and computing power clusters with DC architectures, it can eliminate the inverter process, reduce power conversion losses, and simplify equipment configuration. Compared with most power generation technologies, it has a natural adaptability advantage.

Deployment cycle, power supply model, economy, and policy levels have outstanding implementation advantages

The SOFC modular system has a delivery cycle of only 55-90 days, which is far faster than grid expansion, gas turbines, nuclear power, etc.; it supports independent on-site power supply and effectively avoids grid connection queuing restrictions. The efficiency of pure power generation is 55% to 65%, and the overall efficiency of cogeneration can reach 85% to 95%; the US IRA Act can provide up to 30% investment tax credit for projects, significantly reducing initial investment. The benchmark product Bloom Energy Server has competitive fuel consumption levels under natural gas power generation conditions, and the overall efficiency of heat recovery scenarios can exceed 90%.

Currently, the system still faces high initial costs, but the path to long-term large-scale cost reduction is clear

According to relevant estimates from the US Department of Energy, the cost of supporting electric stacks and BOP is high at this stage, and the cost of the two types of components is expected to drop drastically in the long term; taking the electrolyte support route used by Bloom Energy as an example, metal connectors and YSZ-based single batteries are the main cost sources for electric stacks. Currently, the procurement price of commercial hardware is high. With the expansion of the scale of the industry and process optimization, there is room for a continuous decline in costs.

Market demand continues to be fulfilled, and the benchmark project marks the upgrade of SOFC to the main power supply scheme for computing power parks

Driven by the wave of US data center expansion, increased power in single cabinets, and the spread of DC power supply, demand for SOFC distributed local power generation continues to expand, and leading manufacturers continue to receive long-term orders at the megawatt level. In 2026, Oracle announced that the AI data center park will be powered by Bloom Energy SOFC to replace the originally planned gas turbines and diesel generators. This is a landmark event in the industry, proving that SOFC officially changed from supplementing alternative power supplies to optional main power solutions for large-scale AI computing power parks.

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