Two weeks ago, the Biden administration announced project winners for seven huge regional hydrogen hubs, which is the result of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The $7 billion government investment is supposed to catalyze another $40 billion in private investment, providing lots of jobs and economic benefits across seven different U.S. regions while bringing hydrogen -- an emission-free form of energy ideal in serving heavy industries -- to mainstream use.
Those various projects also announced several partner companies in each regional hub, spreading the benefits across a number of industrial stocks.
However, one company that didn't make the headlines on any of these projects may actually stand to benefit the most. And its stock looks like a solid buy today.
Chart Industries is a key supplier
It has been said that in the 1849 California gold rush, it wasn't the prospectors that got rich, but rather those that sold the "picks and shovels" to those prospectors.
So while a lot of big companies were named in these hydrogen projects, it's possible that the biggest beneficiaries may in fact be those that sell "picks and shovels" equipment to those building out these hubs.
That is likely to be a boon for Chart Industries (GTLS -1.32%), which may in fact be the biggest beneficiary in all of this.
Chart is a specialist in cryogenic tanks and heat exchangers, whose biggest business at the moment is liquified natural gas infrastructure. However, that same expertise can be used in hydrogen infrastructure, and Chart has been capitalizing on that trend since 2020.
Moreover, Chart acquired a large company called Howden, based out of the U.K., late last year. Howden is a manufacturer of different types of industrial fans, blowers, and compressors. These products serve a lot of the same markets as Chart's cryogenic tanks and heat exchangers -- including hydrogen -- and therefore provide a lot of revenue and margin synergies.
In just the past year, Chart has noted that its total addressable market in hydrogen has doubled, from 512 potential customers in 2022 to 1,170 as of the end of the second quarter of 2023. And Chart's new or expanded hydrogen partnerships have increased by 16 large customers this year through the second quarter.
Not only that, but some of the new hydrogen hub projects will actually be powered by natural gas, in combination with carbon capture technology. And not only is Chart's main business in natural gas infrastructure, but it's also a supplier of carbon capture capture equipment. This is the result of a savvy acquisition Chart made during 2020, when many smaller and newer-technology start-ups were available at low prices.
So Chart benefits not only from the hydrogen hubs, but also from the infrastructure that powers those hubs.
What Chart has said about these hydrogen hubs
In an even more bullish turn, on last quarter's conference call, Chart CEO Jill Evanko noted that the potential revenue from these seven hydrogen hubs wasn't even in Chart's backlog as of yet, calling the hubs a "huge opportunity." But despite that being the case, Chart's backlog increased over 24.1% last quarter over the prior year. So these new hydrogen hubs could help sustain Chart's strong growth it has been seeing in LNG demand over the past 18 months, ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Evanko also noted that Chart has 60 years of experience handling hydrogen molecules, and Howden has 100 years of experience. Moreover, while Chart is not directly involved with the Department of Energy bidding process, based on her estimates, Evanko projected Chart would have content in a "supermajority" of these hydrogen hub projects.
Moreover, Chart is an international player, especially after the acquisition of Howden. And the U.S. isn't the only one investing in clean hydrogen. Last quarter, management noted new projects getting going in India, as well as a hydrogen partnership between South Africa and Germany.
Chart could be a bounceback candidate
Chart's stock sold off a lot after it announced the Howden deal last year, which was made with high-cost debt. However, Chart's results have impressed this year, seeming to justify the strategic merits of the acquisition.
While the company's multiple looks high now, because of acquisition costs and interest expenses, Chart only trades at 13 times 2024 earnings estimates.
Given its position not only in the LNG buildout but also in energy transition markets such as hydrogen, carbon capture, and water purification, Chart is a strong industrial name to watch as these hydrogen hubs kick in.
