What happened
Plug Power (PLUG -1.38%) stock shot up this morning and was trading up a solid 12% by noon ET today. The hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer just bagged an order that's piqued investor attention.
So what
Tuesday morning, Plug Power said it won an order to supply one gigawatt (GW) electrolyzer to H2 Energy Europe, a company that builds fuel cell solutions and hydrogen infrastructure.
Image source: Plug Power.
Electrolyzers are key devices used to produce hydrogen. Plug Power's electrolyzer will have the capacity to produce up to 100,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually that H2 Energy aims to supply to the transportation sector, specifically heavy-duty fuel cell trucks. That amount of fuel can power almost 15,000 heavy-duty trucks per day.
Plug Power will manufacture the electrolyzer at its gigafactory in Rochester, New York, which will also be the world's largest fuel cell and electrolyzer factory where production of green hydrogen is expected to start in 2025.
Now what
There are three major reasons why the market has reacted so strongly to this deal.
First, this is by far Plug Power's largest electrolyzer order ever. The company is betting big on electrolyzers, and in fact, expects to cut electrolyzer costs so drastically at its Rochester plant in the coming years that it expects to be able to generate an operating margin of 17% by 2025.
Second, the deal is yet more proof of how green hydrogen is slowly but gradually gaining attention, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine war that's shifted global focus from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources like never before.
Third, Plug Power shares plunged after earnings last week, and although the stock has gained some ground since, it's still significantly down in one month. At this point, any positive trigger that paints a promising picture for Plug Power has the potential to move the stock price higher. A large deal for a company that's trying to make a mark in a nascent yet high-potential industry is an indisputable trigger.
Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Byrd expects this one electrolyzer deal alone to generate $500 million in revenue for Plug Power in 2024, according to TheFly.com. Byrd has a price target of $60 a share on Plug Power -- that's a whopping fourfold jump from the stock's opening price Tuesday.
