Alternative energy company FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) announced Friday morning that it has received a continuation award of $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to “showcase” the capabilities of its Direct FuelCell power plant for industrial applications. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2014.

Amazingly, a contract worth roughly $3 million boosted the company’s market cap by about $47 million when trading opened this morning. At last night’s close FuelCell’s market cap was around $614 million, and that has jumped to $661 million. That is a ratio of more than 14-to-1.

On Monday, FuelCell shares opened the trading day at $1.93, and shares closed at $2.99 Thursday night. That gain was almost entirely due to a recent contract announcement from Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) that it has won a substantial new order from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) for fuel cell-powered forklifts at six of Walmart’s U.S. distribution centers. Analysts see a welter of opportunities for additional business from large warehouse operators and for companies like Plug Power and FuelCell Energy.

Since Monday, Plug Power has added about 45% to its share price, and FuelCell Energy has added almost 61%. Friday’s contract announcement is the first real benefit that FuelCell has seen, so investors are piling in.

FuelCell shares traded up about 5.7% in the first half-hour of trading, after opening up more than 7%. The current price is $3.14, in a 52-week range of $0.84 to $3.40.

Plug Power is also getting a nice coat-tail effect from FuelCell’s rise. Plug Power’s stock is up about 4.9%, at $6.67 in a 52-week range of $0.15 to $7.09. Payback time.

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