Bramble Energy Market Analysis and Product Design

Bramble Energy is a recent UK start-up, manufacturing printed circuit board fuel cells. This project aims to broaden our approach to innovation from predominantly engineering driven to one in which user needs drive technology development. To date, around $20 billion (£16 billion) of public money has been invested in research and innovation for the fuel cell sector globally. This has so far received a poor return on investment, with low market entry and technology costs remaining high. No fuel cell company has demonstrated profitability to date. The reasons underlying this lack of performance in the sector are complex, but one major factor is the technocentric engineering-led culture of the industry that does not fully take into account market needs. The average fuel cell goes through multiple design cycles after initial product launch before it finds a market that it can successfully sell into. This has resulted in an average cost of development up to the first commercial revenue cycle of $1.3 billion (£1 billion). Embedding user-centred design in Bramble Energy will ensure that new products being developed will better meet user needs and be market read after the first full design cycle. This will reduce our development costs and time to market, putting us ahead of our competitors.