Fuel cells can be more efficient than combustion because of direct electrification. With combustion, there needs to be a boiler, turbine, etc and that adds to the losses through the system.
At industrial scale, it is possible a turbine and boiler is probably the better bet, because the technology is very mature and large fuel cells may pose extra challenges with sourcing the membranes. It would need a more in-depth cost analysis.
World’s First Electric Aircraft Flight Powered by New Liquid Hydrogen–Flew for 3 Hours (www.goodnewsnetwork.org)