The commercialisation of a new technology is a challenging and uncertain process. Likewise, the emerging fuel cell (FC) industry experiences numerous technical and market uncertainties to shift from primarily Research and Development activities to activities in production, marketing and sales. This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the management challenges FC firms face in the current pre-commercialisation phase. First, a brief literature review on technology commercialisation is given. Second, a characterisation is made of (i) the technology, (ii) the market for FC products, (iii) the environment and (iv) the FC industry to highlight the key uncertainties and challenges of managing the commercialisation of FC technology. In the final discussion this paper suggests that FC firms face dilemmas in decision-making, regarding resource acquisition, competence development, product development and niche market selection. This research may provide insight into the challenges of managing the commercialisation of FC technology. (c) 2006 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.