This article reviews the current status and discusses future opportunities for major direct fuel cell (DFC) materials. Major progress on DFC materials development (e.g., electrode, electrolyte, matrix, catalyst, cell hardware, and stack/power plant hardware) at fuel cell energy is discussed. Long-term (i.e., ∼18,000 h) field testing results are reported. These results confirm at least a five year operational life for selected key stack materials. Cost reduction is the current main focus.