Plug Power Gets $1.6B in DOE Loans

Plug Power secures $1.6 billion in conditional loans from the Department of Energy to build green hydrogen production facilities, the largest single loan  the DOE has made to date for green hydrogen.

The loan grant is a boon to the company, which last year issued a warning about its viability because of supply-chain delays on key equipment for its operations. Those issues have been resolved, the company said in March.

Plug Power is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing investments in hydrogen-powered mobility, refueling stations and demand for green hydrogen production. The company makes electrolyzers key to producing green hydrogen and manufactures hydrogen fuel cells for forklifts and stationary power. Amazon and Walmart are among its customers.

Plug Power already operates a green hydrogen project in Georgia. The first site expected to benefit from the DOE loans is a hydrogen production facility in Graham, TX, where Plug Power is building a wind farm to power the facility and production. Plug has an advantage by benefiting from federal incentives because its electrolyzers and hydrogen liquefiers are made in the U.S.

The spike in demand for hydrogen is being powered by mandates to eventually eliminate diesel engines and fuel used by commercial trucks in California and other states, as well as a federal mandate to transition heavy trucks to zero-emission powertrains.

Plug Power also just announced an integration of a Class 6 medium-duty fuel-cell electric truck powered by the company’s ProGen fuel-cell stack. Designed specifically for “middle-mile” deliveries, the vehicle is engineered for up to 500 miles (805 km), a significant advantage over battery-electric trucks.

“Plug continues to lead the charge in developing and deploying hydrogen fuel cell solutions for electric-vehicle platforms," says CEO Andy Marsh. “Our ProGen engine, built on decades of operational experience, offers unmatched benefits for middle-mile delivery – range, rapid fueling, cargo volume optimization and higher power densities.”