New Energies, new possibilities

What happened 

Shares of hydrogen fuel cell company Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) fell 29.7% in October, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, as earnings were released. And this is just the latest volatile month for this renewable energy stock. 

So what 

A big reason for part of the drop was just that Bloom Energy's stock has skyrocketed since March. Shares are up 96% so far this year and nearly 400% from its March low, so it's still been an outstanding year for this renewable energy stock. 

Image source: Bloom Energy.

The two notable news items were paying off $249 million worth of 10% convertible promissory notes due 2021 and calling the outstanding $79 million on its 10% senior secured notes due 2024. This follows selling $230 million of 2.5% green convertible senior notes due 2025. 

Bloom Energy also released earnings for the third quarter of 2020, showing $200.3 million of revenue and a loss of $12.0 million. On the positive side, the operating margin improved from 2.7% a year ago to 7.7%, and adjusted EBITDA was $27.7 million.

Now what 

As bad as the stock performed last month, the operating news was fairly positive. Debt was refinanced at a much lower rate and Bloom Energy is EBITDA positive and slowly improving the bottom line. I chalk last month's move up to volatility for renewable energy stocks and see this as a buying opportunity for investors. 

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/11/08/why-bloom-energys-shares-plunged-297-in-october/

Beijing SinoHytec Co Ltd began trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market on Monday at a public offering price of 76.65 yuan (US$11) per share.

The share price of the first Chinese hydrogen fuel cell engine company to list on the board surged 144.12 percent and SinoHytec closed at 187.12 yuan, with an intraday high of 261.11 yuan.

Fuel-cell vehicles use a fuel cell instead of a battery. Automotive fuel cells generate electricity to power a motor, generally using oxygen and compressed hydrogen.

China is actively promoting the development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that hydrogen cars are an important technological route which will coexist with the development of electric vehicles.

Compared with traditional gasoline vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles are said to have short refueling times, a long cruising range and are pollution-free.

In April this year, four ministries and commissions issued a notice to promote the development of new-energy vehicles. It said that China will strive to establish a hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle industry chain in around four years. The country will make breakthroughs in key core technologies and form a good industry layout and coordinated development, it said.

SinoHytec cautioned investors about the risks of the hydrogen fuel cell sector in an announcement. It said that the penetration rate of fuel-cell vehicles is currently relatively low in China. The sector is in the early stages of industrialization, with the high cost of fuel cell stations and the immaturity of key technologies.

In 2019, sales of fuel-cell vehicles in the Chinese market totalled 2,737 units, a relatively small figure compared with the 1.2 million new-energy vehicles sold across the country.

Founded in 2012, SinoHytec is a high-tech enterprise focusing on research and development as well as manufacturing of hydrogen fuel cell engines and related products such as fuel cell stacks, hydrogen systems and test platforms.

The company's products are mainly used in commercial vehicles such as passenger cars and logistics vehicles. Its fuel cell products are used in vehicles from automakers such as Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co, Shanghai Shenlong Bus Co and Foton Motor.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, which was launched in July last year, is seen as a foundation for deepened reforms in China's A-share market, as well as an attractive market for high-profile Chinese tech companies to list at home.

https://www.shine.cn/biz/auto/2008103880/

Plug soars on a deal in the U.K., and other fuel cell stocks come along for the ride.

What happened

Shares of alternative energy providers -- fuel cell stocks including Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG), FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL), and Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) -- exploded higher to start out the week on Monday. As of 11:45 a.m. EDT, Plug stock is up 14.7%, its much smaller rival FuelCell is up 11.4%, and Bloom Energy has gained 6.7%.

All three stocks may have Plug to thank for their success today.

So what

On an otherwise slow news day for fuel cell stocks, Plug Power shook up the market with an announcement that U.K.-based supermarket chain Asda will be buying a "turnkey solution" for its warehouse forklift fleet, including "fuel cells, hydrogen fueling equipment, hydrogen and service" from Plug. The company notes that Asda is a new customer for Plug, and that this deal "represents the first deployment at scale of hydrogen fuel cell technology for material handling within the United Kingdom."

Investors appear to be hoping that "first" implies "first of many," and that if the popularity of hydrogen fuel cell technology takes off in the U.K., this may work to the benefit of Plug's competitors -- FuelCell and Bloom -- as well. Reinforcing that belief, Asda reminded that its parent company Walmart "has chosen to build the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric vehicles in the world" -- the implication being that where Walmart leads, others may follow.

Now what

Asda is the U.K.'s third-largest supermarket chain, so today's announcement is kind of a big deal for Plug. That said, the company did not state quite how big of a deal it is, in terms of either revenue or profitability.

We'll get our next glance at those kinds of numbers when Plug reports its second-quarter 2020 financial results, due out before the market opens on Thursday, Aug. 6.

For the record, analysts currently forecast that Plug will report a $0.10 per share loss (25% worse than last year) on sales of $59.5 million -- up 4% year over year.

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https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/08/03/why-hydrogen-fuel-cell-stocks-popped-today.aspx