At the California “Hyroad” hydrogen event in March, Angstrom Power announced the availability of a new high-tech micro fuel cell device. It’s called a flashlight. “The A2 flashlight is powered by micro hydrogen fuel cells and runs longer than any competing flashlight,” says Ged McLean, president of Angstrom Power. The 1-watt LED is also 10 times as bright as competitors, the company says. At about $1,000 each, it had better be.

Of course, it isn’t targeted at consumers. The A2 is “ideal for search and rescue, military, government organizations that want to validate hydrogen, and certain other niche markets or specialty markets that have special needs,” says spokesperson Brian Hall. It uses a metal hydride system to convert hydrogen—stored in its handle—and air from the surrounding environment into electricity. It takes about 10 minutes to refuel the flashlight using a portable refuel-ing station, but future versions will use portable cartridges to refill more like batteries than gasoline pumps, Angstrom says.

Analysts say the flashlight probably won’t revolutionize the industry. “It’s $1,000; that’s all you need to know,” says Dan Benjamin, a senior analyst for ABI Research. But the A2 is the latest example of a major trend in fuel cells: companies going niche to grow. While industry watchers hope fuel cells might eventually power cooler, more exciting devices like laptops, cell phones, and even cars, the technology isn’t there yet, and companies are seeking ways to jump-start their sales.

Jadoo Power Systems makes a hydrogen fuel cell system for professional video cameras. Nuvera sells 5-kilowatt PowerFlow hydrogen fuel cell systems for industrial applications like material handling, ground support equipment, construction, mining, and forestry. And Smart Fuel Cell sells direct methanol fuel cells for recreational vehicles like the Hymermobil S-Class luxury motor home. But the cells run television, lighting, and other onboard devices, and don’t propel the vehicles.

The fuel cell dilemma is “that you need to get the volume up in order to get the prices down, but—like other technologies—you can’t get the volumes up unless you get the prices down,” says Brian Barnett, managing director of product development and consulting firm TIAX. “It’s the chicken and the egg. So companies have tried to find good niche products to begin to get volumes up.”