Plug Power Inc Stock

Plug Power Inc. (Plug) engages in the design, development and sale of green hydrogen products and solutions.

Plug is the company behind the end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem that offers products and solutions ranging from fuel cells to electrolyzers to the production, storage and handling, transportation and dispensing of liquid green hydrogen. In creating the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cells, the company has deployed more than 60,000 fuel cell systems for forklifts and more than 180 fueling stations. Plug intends to deliver its green hydrogen solutions directly to its customers, and through joint venture partners into multiple environments, including material handling, e-mobility, power generation, and industrial applications.

Plug is focused on delivering a number of green hydrogen solutions to customers. Its vertically integrated end-to-end solutions, which are designed to fit individual customer needs, include hydrogen production equipment or the delivery of green hydrogen fuel, whichever is preferred, including:

Proton exchange membrane (‘PEM’) electrolyzers: Plug electrolyzers use clean electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Using electrolyzers, customers can generate hydrogen for a variety of applications. In the support of the market growth and its own ambitions, Plug has built a gigafactory to produce electrolyzer stacks in Rochester, New York.

Hydrogen Liquefiers: Through the acquisition of Joule Processing LLC (‘Joule’) in 2022, Plug gained core competency in liquefaction systems known for their operational efficiency, flexibility and reliability. Plug’s hydrogen liquefaction system has one of the most energy-efficient designs on the market utilizing hydrogen as the refrigerant in the main liquefaction cycle.

Liquid Hydrogen Tankers: The Plug hydrogen tanker is one of the largest and lightest trailer ever manufactured, with unprecedented over-the-road payloads.

Plug also continues to offer fuel cells, electrochemical devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and heat without combustion. Opened in 2023, Plug has built a 407,000-square-foot facility in Slingerlands, New York, which includes a 350,000-square-foot world-class fuel cell manufacturing facility to support the growing demand for fuel cells.

Plug delivers end-to-end hydrogen solutions for supply chain and logistics applications, on-road electric vehicles, the stationary power market, and more. Plug has announced that it is building green hydrogen generation plants throughout the United States, including in New York, Louisiana, Georgia, California, and Texas. The company expects to begin producing liquid green hydrogen in 2023.

To complete the company’s end-to-end hydrogen ecosystem, Plug is offering high-efficiency liquefaction technology and cryogenic tanker and storage solutions to effectively deliver liquid green hydrogen to customers.

Business Strategy

Plug’s business strategy is focused on expanding hydrogen production, with a focus on both output capabilities and geography; scaling production through electrolyzer and fuel cell gigafactories; scaling Plug’s electrolyzer program to provide comprehensive and economical solutions focused on the company’s 5-megawatt (‘MW’) and 10MW offerings, and using these building blocks to reach into the gigawatt-scale electrolyzer market; expanding into the on-road vehicles market, including delivery vans/light commercial vehicles with the company’s joint venture with Renault (HyVia), while continuing to explore the aviation market (commuter and cargo planes and drones) and the expansion of available applications in the on-road vehicle market (such as yard tractors, cargo vans, buses, and Class 6, 7 or 8 trucks); expanding into large-scale stationary power market, including backup and continuous power applications, including data centers, microgrids, distribution centers and electric vehicle (‘EV’) charging; expanding into new regions that require decarbonization, including in Europe and Asia; and partnering with or acquiring companies with solutions that play an integral role in building Plug’s green hydrogen ecosystem.

In 2022, Plug acquired Joule, an engineered modular equipment process design and procurement company, and acquired two subsidiaries of Cryogenic Industrial Solutions, LLC, Alloy Custom Products, LLC and WesMor Cryogenics, LLC, to bolster the cryogenic tanker and storage tank business resulting from the 2021 acquisition of Applied Cryo Technologies. Plug also created a joint venture with Niloco Hydrogen Holdings LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Olin Corporation (‘Olin’), named ‘Hidrogenii’ to support reliability of supply and speed to market for hydrogen throughout North America.Plug entered into joint ventures with Renault SAS (‘Renault’) in France, Acciona Generación Renovable, S.A. (‘Acciona’) in Spain, and SK E&S Co., Ltd. (‘SK E&S’) in South Korea.

Products and Services

Plug is facilitating the paradigm shift to an increasingly electrified world by innovating cutting-edge hydrogen and fuel cell solutions.

While the company continues to develop commercially viable hydrogen and fuel cell product solutions, the company has expanded its offerings to support a variety of commercial operations that can be powered with green hydrogen. The company provides electrolyzers that allow customers — such as refineries, producers of chemicals, steel, fertilizer and commercial refueling stations — to generate hydrogen on-site. The company is focusing its efforts on industrial mobility applications, including electric forklifts and electric industrial vehicles, at multi-shift high volume manufacturing and high throughput distribution sites where the company’s products and services provide a unique combination of productivity, flexibility, and environmental benefits; stationary power systems that will support critical operations, such as data centers, microgrids, and generation facilities, in either a backup power or continuous power role and replace batteries, diesel generators or the grid for telecommunication logistics, transportation, and utility customers; and the production of hydrogen. Plug expects to support these products and customers with an ecosystem of vertically integrated products that produce, transport, store and handle, dispense, and use hydrogen for mobility and power applications.

The company’s products and services include:

GenDrive: GenDrive is the company’s hydrogen fueled Proton Exchange Membrane (‘PEM’) fuel cell system, providing power to material handling electric vehicles, including Class 1, 2, 3 and 6 electric forklifts, Automated Guided Vehicles (‘AGVs’), and ground support equipment.

GenFuel: GenFuel is the company’s liquid hydrogen fueling delivery, generation, storage, and dispensing system.

GenCare: GenCare is the company’s ongoing ‘Internet of Things’-based maintenance and on-site service program for GenDrive fuel cell systems, GenSure fuel cell systems, GenFuel hydrogen storage and dispensing products and ProGen fuel cell engines.

GenSure: GenSure is the company’s stationary fuel cell solution providing scalable, modular PEM fuel cell power to support the backup and grid-support power requirements of the telecommunications, transportation, and utility sectors; GenSure High Power Fuel Cell Platform will support large scale stationary power and data center markets.

GenKey: GenKey is the company’s vertically integrated ‘turn-key’ solution combining either GenDrive or GenSure fuel cell power with GenFuel fuel and GenCare aftermarket service, offering complete simplicity to customers transitioning to fuel cell power.

ProGen: ProGen is the company’s fuel cell stack and engine technology used globally in mobility and stationary fuel cell systems, and as engines in electric delivery vans. This includes Plug’s membrane electrode assembly (‘MEA’), a critical component of the fuel cell stack used in zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicle engines.

Electrolyzers: The design and implementation of 5 and 10MW electrolyzer systems that are modular, scalable hydrogen generators optimized for clean hydrogen production. Electrolyzers generate hydrogen from water using electricity and a special membrane and ‘green’ hydrogen is generated by using renewable energy inputs, such as solar or wind power.

Liquefaction Systems: Plug’s 15 ton-per-day and 30 ton-per-day liquefiers are engineered for high efficiency, reliability, and operational flexibility — providing consistent liquid hydrogen to customers. This design increases plant reliability and availability while minimizing parasitic losses like heat leak and seal gas losses.

Cryogenic Equipment: Engineered equipment, including trailers and mobile storage equipment for the distribution of liquified hydrogen, oxygen, argon, nitrogen and other cryogenic gases.

The company provides its products and solutions worldwide through its direct sales force, and by leveraging relationships with original equipment manufacturers (‘OEMs’) and their dealer networks. Plug is targeting Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America for expansion in adoption. The European Union (the ‘EU’) has rolled out ambitious targets for the hydrogen economy as part of the EU strategy for energy integration and Plug is seeking to execute on the company’s strategy to become one of the European leaders in the hydrogen economy. This includes a targeted account strategy for material handling, securing strategic partnerships with European OEMs, energy companies, utility leaders and accelerating its electrolyzer business. The company’s global strategy includes leveraging a network of integrators or contract manufacturers.

Part of the company’s long-term plan includes Plug penetrating the European and Asian hydrogen market, on-road vehicle market, and large-scale stationary market. Plug’s formation of joint ventures with HyVia and AccionaPlug S.L. in Europe and SK Plug Hyverse Co., Ltd. (‘SK Plug Hyverse’), in Asia not only support this goal but are expected to provide the company with a more global footprint. Plug has been successful with acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint ventures, and the company plans to continue this mix.

The company manufactures its commercially viable products in Latham, New York, Rochester, New York, Slingerlands, New York, Houston, Texas, Lafayette, Indiana, and Spokane, Washington, and support liquid hydrogen production and logistics in Charleston, Tennessee and Kingsland, Georgia.

Markets/Geography and Customer Concentration

The company’s products and services predominantly serve the North American and European material handling markets, and primarily support large to mid-sized fleet, multi shift operations in high volume manufacturing and high throughput distribution centers. The company has historically experienced fluctuations in its quarterly operating results, with more revenue typically recognized in the second half of the fiscal year as compared to the first half.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, Amazon.com Inc. (‘Amazon’), accounted for 13.0% of the company’s total consolidated revenues.

The company assembles its products at its manufacturing facilities in Latham, New York, Rochester, New York, Slingerlands, New York, Houston, Texas, Lafayette, Georgia, and Spokane, Washington; and provides the company’s services and installations at customer locations and service centers in Romeoville, Illinois and Dayton, Ohio. In addition, the company has a hydrogen production plant in Charleston, Tennessee, and Kingsland, Georgia. In 2022, the company opened a warehouse and logistics center in Duisberg, Germany.

Distribution, Marketing and Strategic Relationships

The company has developed strategic relationships with established companies in key areas, including distribution, service, marketing, supply, technology development and product development. The company sells its products worldwide, with a primary focus on North America, Europe, and Asia, through the company’s direct product sales force, OEMs, and their dealer networks. The company operates in Europe under the name Plug Power Europe to develop and sell hydrogen fuel cell systems for the European material handling market.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Plug Power LA JV, LLC, created a joint venture with Niloco Hydrogen Holdings LLC, named ‘Hidrogenii’ in the third quarter of 2022. Hidrogenii will support reliability of supply and speed to market for hydrogen throughout North America, and set the foundation for broader collaboration between Plug and Olin. Hidrogenii plans to begin with the construction of a 15-ton-per-day hydrogen plant in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. Hidrogenii is owned 50% by Plug Power LA JV, LLC and 50% by Niloco Hydrogen Holdings LLC.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Plug Power France, entered into a joint venture with Renault named HyVia in the second quarter of 2021. HyVia plans to manufacture and sell fuel cell powered electric light commercial vehicles (‘FCELCVs’) and to supply hydrogen fuel and fueling stations to support the FCE-LCV market, in each case primarily in Europe. HyVia is owned 50% by Plug Power France and 50% by Renault.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Plug Power Espana S.L. (‘Plug Power Spain’), entered into a joint venture with Acciona, named AccionaPlug S.L., in the fourth quarter of 2021. AccionaPlug S.L. is owned 50% by Plug Power Spain and 50% by Acciona. The joint venture intends to develop green hydrogen projects in Spain and Portugal.

The company entered into a joint venture with SK E&S named SK Plug Hyverse, which was funded in the first quarter of 2022. The joint venture with SK E&S seeks to accelerate the use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source in Asian markets. Through this initiative, the two companies will collaborate to provide hydrogen fuel cell systems, hydrogen fueling stations, electrolyzers and green hydrogen to the Korean and other Asian markets. This joint venture is owned 49% by Plug Power Inc. and 51% by SK E&S.

Intellectual Property

The company has a total of 65 issued patents active with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (‘USPTO’), expiring between 2023 and 2040. At the close of 2022, the company had 23 U.S. patent applications pending. Additionally, the company has 22 trademarks registered with the USPTO expiring between 2023 and 2032, and three trademark applications pending.

Government Regulation

The company certified several models of Class 1, 2, and 3 GenDrive products to the requirements of the CE mark with guidance from a European certified body.

The company is also subject to standards as applied to the design of its electrolyzer products, both domestically and abroad. Such standards include, but are not limited to, ‘Hydrogen Generators Using Water Electrolysis’ (ISO 22734), ‘Hydrogen Technologies Code’ (NFPA 2), ‘Explosive Atmospheres’ requirements (UL 60079), CE product standards within the European Commission, and AS/NZS standards for the company’s products within each jurisdiction, as applicable.

The company’s facilities in the United States are subject to regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (‘OSHA’), which regulates the protection of the health and safety of workers.

Suppliers

In January 2023, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Johnson Matthey Hydrogen Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of Johnson Matthey PLC and a global leader in sustainable technologies (JM), pursuant to which JM will supply the company catalyst coated membrane (CCM) for use in the production of fuel cells, as well as catalysts and membranes for use in the production of electrolyzers. In addition, the company and JM intend to develop their existing and new technology and commercial products and co-invest in a manufacturing facility in the United States.

Research and Development

The company’s research and development expense totaled $99.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2022.

History

Plug Power Inc. was founded as a corporation in the state of Delaware in 1997. The company was incorporated in 1997.