Walmart Triples Hydrogen Fuel Cell Order

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) surged in premarket trading Wednesday after the fuel cell maker revealed that it had received an order from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) for its hydrogen fuel cells to power electric lift truck fleets at six of the retailer’s North America distribution centers by the second quarter of 2014.

Walmart has ordered a total of 1,738 the company’s GenDrive fuel cell units, to be deployed over two years, along with construction of the needed infrastructure, the hydrogen fuel supply and six-year service contracts for each site.

Walmart said: “We are pleased with the performance of the hydrogen fuel cells that we have been operating and are excited to expand our program with Plug Power.” These fuel cells can contribute to an increase in productivity, as workers spend less time fueling forklift trucks, resulting in less downtime.

Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said:

This agreement is a tripling of Walmart’s commitment to Plug Power’s fuel cells, and is encouraging because it comes from a company with so much experience using our product. This is a milestone for Plug Power and its ongoing business relationship with Walmart. … We have proven to be a trusted partner and are confident that GenKey will enhance Walmart’s material handling operations.

Shares of Plug Power were up about 13.6% to $4.43 in premarket trading Wednesday. The 52-week range is $0.12 to $4.90.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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