Hydrogen stocks are publicly traded companies seeking to capitalize on the enormous potential of hydrogen. This energy source emits no greenhouse gases when burned. The only waste product is water vapor, making it a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, and coal. These features make it a potential future source of lower-carbon energy.
The drawback of hydrogen as a fuel source is that it's rarely found in an easily extractable form. Although hydrogen can be produced from a variety of sources, most methods emit greenhouse gases, and it has not yet been produced at the scale needed to be economically competitive with fossil fuels.
However, that could change in the coming years. Several companies are working hard to tap into the enormous promise of this potentially emission-free fuel.
What to know about investing in hydrogen
There are a few things investors should know about the hydrogen industry before investing in the sector, including:
- Types of hydrogen: There are several ways to produce hydrogen, some of which produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The industry refers to hydrogen produced from burning natural gas as "blue hydrogen," which requires carbon capture and storage (CCS) to isolate greenhouse gas emissions. "Green hydrogen" produced by using renewable energy to power an electrolyzer that splits hydrogen from water molecules doesn't emit any greenhouse gases. Green and blue are two of the many colors used to classify hydrogen by its production method and emissions profile.
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- Similar to batteries: Hydrogen fuel cells work much like batteries, generating electricity through an electrochemical reaction. However, hydrogen fuel cells are refueled with more hydrogen rather than being recharged like a traditional battery.
- Multiple current uses: Hydrogen fuel cells already have many uses. They're found in many motorized vehicles (e.g., cars, trains, buses, maritime vessels, and trucks) and also serve as a stationary power source.
- Massive market opportunity: Hydrogen has vast potential as a replacement fuel. It could one day replace natural gas in the pipeline system to generate electricity at power plants and as a fuel source for our homes. Due to its potential, some forecasts peg the future value of the clean hydrogen market as high as $11 trillion.
- Costs: Although clean hydrogen holds great promise as a potential emissions-free fuel source, it's costly to produce. It costs as little as $1.50 per kilogram to produce hydrogen from natural gas and between $3 and $12 per kilogram to produce clean hydrogen. The U.S. Department of Energy wants to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per kilogram over the next decade to make it a more competitive fuel source.
Best hydrogen stocks to buy in 2025
Given the potential of clean hydrogen, a growing number of companies are investing in the sector. Many energy and industrial companies are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of hydrogen energy.
However, a handful of companies are already emerging as early leaders in the sector. Here are five leading hydrogen companies to keep an eye on as the industry matures.
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) | $211.7 billion | 1.30% | Chemicals |
| Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) | $25.5 billion | 0.00% | Electrical Equipment |
| Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) | $4.0 billion | 0.00% | Electrical Equipment |
| BP (NYSE:BP) | $85.3 billion | 5.84% | Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels |
| Air Products And Chemicals (NYSE:APD) | $56.6 billion | 2.81% | Chemicals |
1. Air Products
Air Products (APD +0.20%) is a global leader in supplying industrial gases and liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing technology and equipment. It's also one of the world's largest suppliers of merchant hydrogen and a leader in hydrogen fuel infrastructure. It has more than 100 hydrogen plants with the capacity to produce 7 million kilograms of fuel each day.
NYSE: APD
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Air Products aspires to be a leader in providing solutions to the world's energy and environmental challenges through gasification, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen. It has several major hydrogen projects underway that it expects to complete in the coming years.
For example, it has completed 80% of the construction of its NEOM Green Hydrogen Project in Saudi Arabia, which should begin production by 2027 and could be a key earnings growth driver in the future.
Air Products is also working on a potential $8 billion blue hydrogen project in Louisiana and a $3.3 billion blue hydrogen project in Canada, as well as a smaller $360 million green hydrogen project in Arizona that could come online in 2026.
2. BP
BP (BP -0.18%) is a global oil and gas producer with grand lower-carbon energy ambitions. It set a goal to be a net-zero company by 2050 or earlier, and hydrogen is an aspect of its strategy. BP intends to grow its hydrogen business by investing in five to seven hydrogen and CCS projects worldwide.
NYSE: BP
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For example, the company has partnered with Iberdrola (IBDRY -0.95%) to build a 25-megawatt green hydrogen project at its Castellon refinery. It expects the project to be operational in the second half of 2026.
Meanwhile, the company selected Cummins (CMI +0.96%) to supply a 100-megawatt proton exchange membrane electrolyzer for its largest project (Lingen) in Germany. It could produce as much as 11,000 tons of green hydrogen annually once commissioned in 2027.
The company is also planning to build H2Teesside, which would be one of the largest blue hydrogen facilities in the U.K. However, BP cancelled its HyGreen Teesside project, its first planned green hydrogen project in the U.K. It also exited a planned green hydrogen production facility in Australia in July 2025. These project cancellations show that while hydrogen has a lot of promise, it faces many obstacles in becoming a commercially viable fuel.
3. Plug Power
Plug Power (PLUG -8.23%) is a pioneer in the hydrogen fuel cell industry. It created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology and has deployed an industry-leading 72,000 fuel cell systems for the e-mobility market (using electric powertrain technologies to power vehicles and fleets).
NASDAQ: PLUG
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It's one of the world's largest hydrogen buyers and operates a leading hydrogen refueling network in North America with more than 275 fueling stations. Plug Power is building an end-to-end green hydrogen network to produce, store, and deliver the fuel across North America and Europe.
The company's strategy is to build the world's first green hydrogen ecosystem. Plug Power is developing several green hydrogen production plants, which it expects to be operational by the end of 2028. It's also developing solutions for third-party customers.
In June 2025, Plug Power expanded its strategic collaboration with Allied Green to Uzbekistan. Plug will supply a new 2-gigawatt (GW) electrolyzer as part of a $5.5 billion green chemical production facility. The project follows a 3-GW electrolyzer deal with Allied in Australia.
Those growth projects, combined with Plug's Project Quantum Leap cost-cutting initiatives, position the company to improve cash flows and put it on the path toward profitability. It aims to finally reach overall profitability by the end of 2028.
4. Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy's (BE -4.29%) mission is to produce clean, reliable, and affordable energy. The company has developed the Bloom Energy Server, an electric power-generation platform. It also created the Bloom Electrolyzer, using the same solid oxide technology as its Bloom Energy Server. The product can produce clean hydrogen 15% to 45% more efficiently than others on the market.
NYSE: BE
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Bloom Energy believes the Bloom Electrolyzer is a major leap forward for hydrogen. It hopes the technology will enable heavy industries, such as steel, chemicals, cement, and glass manufacturing, to decarbonize.
Bloom Energy can pair its Bloom Electrolyzer with solar energy and wind energy to generate green hydrogen, which it can store and eventually turn back into electricity for future use. It has the potential to be the solution of choice for powering artificial intelligence (AI), including data centers and businesses using the technology for productivity gains.
Bloom estimates that by 2030, 27% of data center facilities expect to fully power their operations with on-site generation, providing a large market opportunity for the company's energy servers. In July 2025, Bloom Energy revealed a collaboration with Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) to deliver power to data centers for AI workloads.
These catalysts are driving strong financial results for the company. Bloom reported its second-quarter numbers in late July, delivering its third straight quarter of record revenue and profits.
5. Linde
Linde (LIN -0.33%) has developed several technologies to efficiently compress and safely refuel hydrogen. It also offers technologies to lower hydrogen's carbon emissions through carbon capture and storage.
NASDAQ: LIN
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Linde signed a deal in 2024 to build a 100-megawatt renewable hydrogen plant for Shell (SHEL -0.10%) in Germany, which it expects will begin commercial operations in 2027.
In June 2025, Linde signed a long-term agreement to supply industrial gases to a $4 billion low-carbon ammonia facility currently under construction in Louisiana. Linde will invest $400 million into a new on-site facility, which will complement the company's existing hydrogen and syngas (synthesis gas) infrastructure in the region.
While Linde is an early hydrogen leader, it has been skeptical of the sector's near-term growth prospects. The company believes it will take five to seven years for hydrogen technology to mature. As that happens, the industry will be able to approve more commercially viable projects.
Benefits and risks of investing in hydrogen stocks
Investing in hydrogen stocks has its share of pros and cons. Some benefits of investing in hydrogen stocks include:
- Growth potential: Hydrogen has the potential to grow into a multitrillion-dollar global market in the coming decades, which could fuel strong gains for top hydrogen stocks.
- Cleaner: Hydrogen (green hydrogen and blue hydrogen paired with CCS) is a cleaner fuel source compared to oil and natural gas, so investing in the sector can help support the environment.
On the other hand, some risks of investing in hydrogen stocks include:
- Market challenges: The hydrogen market can be very challenging due to the volatility of hydrogen prices and changing government policies. These and other issues have caused some hydrogen companies to cancel major expansion projects.
- Higher risk companies: Many hydrogen companies have higher risk profiles due to their weaker balance sheets and lack of profitability.
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Investment considerations for hydrogen stocks
Hydrogen energy has enormous potential. The emissions-free fuel could help decarbonize heavy industry, replace natural gas, and store renewable energy, paving the way for a truly net-zero world. It represents a multitrillion-dollar market opportunity.
However, hydrogen is still developing as a commercially viable fuel source. The industry needs to scale up and reduce costs to become competitive with fossil fuels and other emerging technologies, such as battery storage. The industry also relies on government support in the form of loan guarantees and other tax incentives, which can change based on the outcome of elections.
Given these factors, investors should evaluate whether they can handle the risks associated with investing in hydrogen stocks. Many pure-play hydrogen companies are unprofitable, making them riskier.
Meanwhile, other larger companies involved in the sector make most of their money elsewhere. Investors might want to watch the sector from the sidelines or invest in hydrogen by taking a basket approach (buying several different hydrogen stocks with varying risk profiles).
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