EFCF - European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum

What EFCF - European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum does

The European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum (EFCF) is a Swiss professional conference organization founded in 1994 and operated by European Fuel Cell Forum AG, a privately held Swiss Aktiengesellschaft headquartered in Adligenswil, Lucerne. EFCF runs the longest-running dedicated international conference series in the fuel cell, electrolyser, and hydrogen technology field, with its 30th edition scheduled for 30 June – 3 July 2026 at the KKL Culture and Convention Centre in Lucerne. The forum serves academic researchers (PhD students through senior professors at institutions such as Imperial College, TU Munich, FZ Jülich, PSI, and DTU), industrial technology providers, and component suppliers, with 5 employees delivering the event alongside co-located parallel forums (SSD, GSM, MEEP, GHF).

EFCF's core product is the annual conference and exhibition, combining parallel technical sessions (A-Sessions and B-Sessions), poster presentations, an industry exhibition, social events (Swiss Surprise Night, Dinner on the Lake), and Gold/Silver/Bronze awards including the Christian Friedrich Schönbein Gold Medal of Honour. The organization has progressively digitized: since 2020 it offers virtual attendance and on-demand tutorial streaming; in 2024 it launched DOI-citable individual proceedings via the Wiley Fuel Cells journal and Zenodo repository; and it operates a MemberZone community platform providing year-round access to archives, streams, and member directories. Educational modules include the FCH-Tutorial (Fuel Cell, Electrolyser & Hydrogen) and EIS-Tutorial (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy), each carrying 0.5 ECTS credits, available live or on-demand.

EFCF's revenue model is a diversified event-services stack: physical and virtual conference registration fees, exhibition booth rentals (CHF 3,478–11,750 per 5–24 sqm booth, eight tiers), paid tutorials, social event tickets (CHF 140/person), sponsorship and supporter programs (Gold/Silver/Bronze visibility, Researcher Support and Sponsorship), and ancillary services such as hotel booking and spouse programs via partner Bucher Travel. Notable exhibitors and supporters include Aperam, BioLogic, Bosal, Bürkert, CEA Liten, Cerpotech, Elcogen, Feintool, FZ Jülich, Heraeus, HORIBA, Imerys, HyAcademy, and I-Graphx. The organization maintains strategic partnerships with The Smarter E Europe (GHF), KKL Lucerne, Zenodo, Wiley's Fuel Cells journal, and Lucerne Tourism.

Name

EFCF - European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum

Legal name

European Fuel Cell Forum AG

Website

https://efcf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EFCF is a Swiss nonprofit-corporate forum that has run the European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum annual conference since 1994, serving researchers, students, and industrial suppliers in fuel cell, electrolyser, and hydrogen technology at KKL Lucerne.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Conferences and Professional Forums

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM)

Keywords

• Fuel cell conference
• Electrolyser technology forum
• Hydrogen industry events
• Electrochemistry tutorials
• Clean energy conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Luzern-Adligenswil

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration: Physical and virtual conference attendance fees for the annual EFCF forum event
2. Exhibition Booth Rental: Sale of exhibition booth space at the conference venue (KKL Lucerne) in various sizes from 5sqm to 24sqm
3. Tutorial Registration: Fees for FCH Tutorial and EIS Tutorial (available live or on-demand) with 0.5 ECTS credits
4. Membership/Subscription: MemberZone access provided to event participants as a gift, also available for purchase post-event; provides access to proceedings, on-demand streams, and member resources
5. Proceedings and Publications: Publication of conference proceedings (PoC and PEY), with some articles receiving DOI citations through Zenodo repository
6. Social Events: Tickets for Swiss Surprise Night and Dinner on the Lake networking events (CHF 140 per person)
7. Sponsorship: Sponsorship opportunities including booth visibility, sponsor listings, and researcher support programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EFCF operates the longest-running dedicated international conference series for fuel cells, electrolysers, and hydrogen processing, established in 1994. The forum combines an annual physical conference at KKL Lucerne with technical sessions, an exhibition, tutorials (FCH and EIS), published proceedings, networking events, and parallel sub-events. It functions primarily as a knowledge-sharing and community platform serving researchers, industry professionals, and students in the hydrogen and electrochemical technology sectors.

Product overview

EFCF (European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum) operates a conference platform centered on its flagship annual International Conference Series established in 1994. The core offering is the EFCF Annual Conference & Exhibition, which serves as the central hub for fuel cell, electrolyser, and hydrogen technology professionals. This core product is supported by educational modules including the FCH-Tutorial (Fuel Cell, Electrolyser & Hydrogen Tutorial) and EIS-Tutorial (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Tutorial), both offering 0.5 ECTS credits and available live or on-demand. Additional products include the EFCF MemberZone for exclusive content access, the EFCF Library containing proceedings with DOI, the Virtual Exhibition platform, and the Gold/Silver/Bronze Awards program including the Christian Friedrich Schönbein Gold Medal of Honour. The platform also offers support services including the Excellent Student Support Fund (ESSF) and Researcher Support & Sponsorship (RSS), as well as social events (Swiss Surprise Night, Dinner on the Lake). Parallel events including SSD, GSM, MEEP, and GHF expand the forum's coverage of adjacent technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EFCF Community: Member community platform providing access to on-demand streams, proceedings, poster presentations, and networking features.
• MemberZone
• FCH-Tutorial
• EIS-Tutorial
• Christian Friedrich Schönbein Awards

Products and services

• EFCF Annual Conference & Exhibition
• FCH-Tutorial (Fuel Cell, Electrolyser & Hydrogen Tutorial)
• EIS-Tutorial (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Tutorial)
• Proceedings of the Conference (PoC)
• EFCF MemberZone
• EFCF Library
• Virtual Exhibition
• Gold, Silver, Bronze Awards Program
• Excellent Student Support Fund (ESSF)
• Researcher Support & Sponsorship (RSS)
• Swiss Surprise Night
• Dinner on the Lake
• GHF - Green H2 Forum +Expo
• SSD - Sustainable Shipping Days
• GSM - Grid Services & Markets
• MEEP - Microbial/Enzymatic Electrochemistry Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 0.5 ECTS credits per tutorial completed
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• The Smarter E EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic collaboration with The Smarter E Europe for the Hydrogen Dialogue Forum (GHF) taking place 23-25 June 2026, creating a specialized platform for industry dialogue, technology exchange, and market development in green hydrogen.
• Sustainable Shipping Days (SSD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner2nd Sustainable Shipping Days event co-located with EFCF 2026 (29-30 June) at KKL Lucerne, focusing on sustainable shipping technologies.
• Grid Services & Markets (GSM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParallel event at EFCF focusing on grid services and markets, complementary to the hydrogen and fuel cell forum.
• Microbial/Enzymatic Electrochemistry Platform (MEEP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partneri-MEEP platform for microbial, enzymatic and bio-photovoltaic electrochemical reactors, fuel cells and electrolyser systems, running parallel to EFCF events.
• Hydrogen MovessupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTargeted H2 contacts and international network partnership for marketing and networking support.
• KKL Lucerne (Culture and Convention Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for the annual EFCF conference and exhibition, located on the waterfront of Lake Lucerne adjacent to the main train station.
• Swiss International Air LinessupportingOthersOfficial carrier agreement with SWISS for conference attendees traveling to Lucerne.
• Lucerne TourismsupportingOthersPartnership with Lucerne Tourism AG for hotel booking support and visitor information for conference attendees.
• Bucher Travel Inc.supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner travel agency for spouse programs, excursions (Mount Pilatus, City tours), and travel arrangements.
• Fuel Cells (Wiley) JournalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial Issue publication partnership with the Fuel Cells journal from Wiley Online Library for peer-reviewed conference publications.
• Zenodo RepositorycoreTechnology or IntegrationOpen-access repository integration for EFCF proceedings with DOI citations, providing permanent archive and citation tracking.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• f-cell (Hydrogen + Fuel Cells, Stuttgart): Long-running German fuel cell & hydrogen event historically held in Stuttgart. Closest geographic and topical peer to EFCF, targeting the same European research and industry community.
• World Hydrogen Summit & Expo: Flagship global hydrogen industry conference & exhibition organized by the Hydrogen Council / S&P Global. Most direct competitor to EFCF for hydrogen-industry attendee and exhibitor mindshare, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe: Dedicated B2B hydrogen technology trade fair in Europe (Hamburg). Competes with EFCF for industrial exhibitor and engineering attendee mindshare in the same H2 / fuel cell value chain.
• International Conference on Hydrogen Energy (ICHEME / EHA): European hydrogen association and conference series addressing hydrogen production, storage and use. Directly comparable to EFCF in audience (researchers, policymakers, industry) and topic depth.

Broad incumbents

• Hannover Messe (Deutsche Messe): Largest industrial trade fair in the world with a dedicated hydrogen & fuel cells track. Overlaps with EFCF for industrial exhibitors and hydrogen technology buyers, but operates at vastly larger scale and scope.
• The Smarter E Europe: Major European energy industry event cluster (Intersolar, ees Europe, Power2Drive, EM-Power). Already a strategic partner of EFCF for the GHF parallel event; partial overlap on hydrogen dialogue and exhibition audiences.

Emerging players

• ECS Meeting (Electrochemical Society): Large international electrochemical science meeting with strong fuel cell and electrolyser tracks. Comparable to EFCF on the academic / electrochemical-impedance audience side, though broader in chemistry scope.

Regional players

• Hyvolution (Paris): French-focused hydrogen event gathering the European H2 ecosystem. Compares to EFCF as a regional counterpart with overlapping exhibitor base but distinct geographic pull.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-electrolyser-and-fuel-cell-forum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EFCF - European Electrolyser and Fuel Cell Forum