FuelCell Energy and Its Compicated Relationship With Natural Gas

By Tyler Crowe – Jul 17, 2014 at 1:05PM

NASDAQ: FCEL

FuelCell Energy

Market Cap

$368M

Today's Change

(-8.02%) -$0.07

Current Price

$0.81

Price as of April 22, 2024, 4:00 p.m. ET

FuelCell Energy wants to become a viable alternative to traditional power generation, but it's reliant on the prospects of its biggest competition: natural gas combustion.

If you are looking at fuel cell stocks and wondering whether FuelCell Energy (FCEL -8.02%), Ballard Power Systems (BLDP -1.90%), or Plug Power (PLUG -3.11%) will come out on top, just remember this: FuelCell Energy is the only one in this group that is betting solely on fuel cells as a means of power generation rather than energy storage.

While this does have some advantages for FuelCell, especially considering its molten carbonate technology -- efficient, but big and runs at very high temperatures -- it also means that FuelCell Energy has a rather complex relationship with its biggest competitor, natural gas turbines.

Tune into the video below to find out why FuelCell Energy needs to be more competitive than traditional natural gas combustion technology but at the same time be reliant on cheaper natural gas.

Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him at Fool.com under the handle TMFDirtyBird, on Google+, or on Twitter @TylerCroweFool.

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.