The days of the gasoline (or diesel) vehicle are numbered. Everyone seems to be in agreement on that. Gas-powered cars and trucks aren’t going to disappear tomorrow, but they will be replaced. The success of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reflects the growing popularity of electric cars. But there’s another story in our zero-emission future: hydrogen. As the race toward green vehicles heats up, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) is positioned to take advantage of its bet on hydrogen. And that means big upside for PLUG stock.
Here’s everything you need to know about this A-rated stock, and why its 136% gain over the past 12 months is just the start of its run.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell vs. Battery Electric Vehicles
Before getting into the details of Plug Power, it’s important to understand why the company’s hydrogen fuel cell technology is important.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles use a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to generate power that charges a battery to provide the driving power. The waste is water. Hydrogen has 10 times the energy capacity of Lithium-ion batteries per pound. That means hydrogen fuel cell technology has a big advantage over battery powered electric cars like those made by Tesla. The vehicles are lighter, since they don’t need a huge battery. They have longer range. And while electric cars can take an hour or more to fully charge, refueling a hydrogen vehicle takes two to three minutes.