Currently the energy utilities are leading the field tests because surplus electricity from the fuel cells is being fed into the public grid. Because such installations also produce heat, however, the lucrative market of heating systems could dwindle for trades' firms as a result. This could lead to lost jobs. Firms could counter this, however, and even gain jobs, according to Marscheider-Weidemann. The prerequisite for this is that trades' firms develop new business models.  

One such possibility is contracting which is already being practised by energy suppliers today in modern cogeneration plants. Here, the final customer no longer has to worry about purchasing and operating the plant, but only pays for the heat and power. For trades' firms, such models are still new and can only be realised if firms are prepared to work together and unite in consortiums. But the Fraunhofer ISI recommends that the sector should not wait to do so until fuel cell technology has been introduced. Today's motor-driven cogeneration systems already offer interesting contracting opportunities for small firms.

The report is published by IRB-Verlag (ISBN 3-8167-6967-5). The research institutes involved have founded a further training network which provides information for tradespeople on the Internet: www.bz-bildung.de