The e-Journal on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Every day, more and more encouraging stories are popping up on news tickers, saying that companies, cities, towns and entire unions of countries, such as the EU, want to step on the gas in terms of climate action, with hydrogen definitely playing a crucial role in their efforts. While people are still sparring over what production method we should focus on, I am sure green hydrogen will win out in the end. Though we may need some of that blue gas to get to green.
A temporary jump in Nikola’s market cap to over USD 25 billion and a stock price topping USD 70 – on one day, even USD 90 – were quite the start. And yet, I stayed on the sidelines, which turned out to be the right thing to do.
What for ups and downs Tesla has seen. High-volume trading each day prior to the 5-1 split pushed the price to more than USD 2,200 – at the beginning of this year, it was below USD 400. A USD 420 billion market cap for what exactly?
FuelCell Energy [Nasdaq: FCEL] has finally closed the chapter on its partnership with Posco. It seemed like a story with no winner.
Bloom Energy performed strongly in recent months, rising from USD 10 to over USD 19 until it was time for profit-taking. As expected, the stock is beginning to catch up to other fuel cell shares. Plus, Bloom [NYSE: BE] has formed a joint venture with Samsung Heavy Industries to come up with SOFC solutions for cargo vessels and tankers. The venture is regarded as a research partnership aimed at developing technologies Bloom wants to bring to market starting in 2022, with yearly production capacities of 300 megawatts.
Plug Power stock is resilient. On the plus side, Plug [Nasdaq: PLUG] completed its USD 123 million acquisition of Giner ELX and United. It will allow the company to not only produce hydrogen but also start making electrolyzers. As I often noted, this kind of deal would be needed for an upward trend in Plug’s price. Moreover, the fuel cell supplier announced that it had received several sizeable orders, including a recent one from a new UK customer, Asda, a Walmart subsidiary.
Recent high volumes of trading saw Ballard Power stock shoot past USD 21 at one point. Subsequent profit-taking then caused the price to fall again. I would say this kind of correction is not unusual during an upward trend and gives investors another opportunity to (re)purchase shares.
On June 8, the EU followed Germany’s example by announcing a hydrogen strategy. The European Commission even published two road maps, one for energy systems integration and another for clean hydrogen as part of the NextGenerationEU stimulus package and the European Green Deal.
The quiet life is over. That much is clear, even to the German hydrogen and fuel cell association DWV. Growing interest in hydrogen and fuel cells has some wanting to turn the organization into a powerful industrial body.
Mathias Bode, FuelCon and Sensotech’s longtime chief executive, has decided to change careers. An automation technician by trade, he is now working for Aquin & Cie., a privately owned consultancy that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, mainly in the industrial automation, automotive testing and electric vehicle markets.
Bode founded Sensotech in 1990 and FuelCon in 2001, developing the latter into a major supplier of fuel cell and battery test equipment. He also supported FuelCon’s acquisition by the Japanese Horiba Group in 2018. He told H2-international that “Horiba asked me to stay with the company. But after 30 years in the market, I wanted to try out something new. Day-to-day business is now in the hands of Horiba Europe’s Markus Bode [no relation].”