But Don't Count It Out.....
.....Plug Power is a corporate sponsor of five of those seven U.S. hydrogen projects. The company expected the U.S. Department of Energy to finalize $1.6 billion in loans related to those developments by the end of the first quarter. Investors and analysts will be listening closely to the company's first-quarter financial report for an update. Plug Power has not yet announced a reporting date.
In March, the Department of Energy announced $750 million in funding for 52 projects across 24 states designed to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen and "reinforce American leadership in the growing hydrogen industry."
Plug Power was again situated as a major recipient, selected for nine awards — three as a prime contractor and six as a subcontractor. Those grants for Plug Power are worth more than $70 million in funding.
Plug Power, Fuel Cell Establishing Hydrogen Markets
Latham, N.Y.-based Plug Power originally formed around replacing forklift batteries with fuel cells. It served companies including Walmart (WMT) and Amazon.com (AMZN), and earned credit for creating the first commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell market.
It has increasingly focused its business on the green hydrogen supply chain. Plug still has its materials handling business. It also makes various fuel cells and electrolyzers, and offers storage and transportation solutions.
In December, the company completed its first electrolyzer system at an Amazon fulfillment center. The center, in Aurora, Co., now powers its 225 forklifts with hydrogen produced on-site.
Looking well beyond forklifts, Plug aims to become the world's largest green hydrogen producer. As a first step, it targets production of more than half of its hydrogen energy from entirely renewable sources this year.
It also has branched out from forklifts to heavy-duty vehicles serving seaports in the U.S. and Europe, as well as stationary fuel cells providing dedicated power to data centers and distribution hubs.
FuelCell Energy has also expanded into ports. It operates its Tri-Gen system at the Port of Long Beach in California under an agreement with Toyota America. Tri-Gen uses biogas to produce electricity, hydrogen and water. The hydrogen is then used to fuel emissions-free industrial vehicles in the port, powered by electrical motors fed by electricity from fuel cells.
Bean Counters Vs. Being Green
Plug has struggled as delays held its hydrogen production below the level of its supply commitments. It has filled the gap by buying hydrogen from third parties. That has driven its costs higher.
Consequently, the resulting cash burn helped drive shares down 94% from January 2021 to the end of November.
In April, the company's first green hydrogen plant in Georgia reached planned capacity of 15 tons per day. That helped narrow the shortfall. Still, analysts have handed the stock a parade of price-target cuts. The most recent, early in April, was a downgrade to sell from Citi, which trimmed its price target to 2, from 3.25.
Morgan Stanley clean-tech analyst Andrew Percoco expects some margin improvement from Plug's fuel delivery business in 2024. Percoco rates Plug stock underweight. Plug Power's profitability will be depend on third-party suppliers reducing prices and on the company's ability to raise prices on existing contracts.....
Quelle @ www.investors.com/news/...nergy-fuel-cars-green-hydrogen-hub/
