Plug Power revenue rises as Slingerlands site nears completion.
Latham-based fuel cell maker reports $188.6 million in revenue during Q3, although company remains unprofitable as it expands rapidly.
Latham fuel cell maker Plug Power reported $188.6 million in revenue during the third quarter of the year, up from $143.9 million a year ago — although the company has yet to turn a profit as it expands rapidly with several major construction projects across the country.
One of those is Plug’s fuel cell factory being built at the Vista Technology Campus in Slingerlands. Company officials said earlier this week when they announced third quarter financial results that the 400,000-square foot facility would soon be completed.
Plug Power said in a letter to investors that the facility could be scaled up to 1 million square feet of space as demand increases for its products, even those beyond its GenDrive fuel cells that are used to power fork lifts used in warehouses and distribution centers.
The company wrote:
Plug is nearing completion of our Vista facility with equipment for our GenDrive and application assembly being placed in the factory.
“This facility will feature advanced automation allowing for increased scale and efficiency for the assembly of our entire fuel cell product line including GenDrive, Stationary and ProGen fuel cells.
While GenDrive powers fork lift and other material handling trucks, ProGen is a line of fuel cells being developed for larger, on-road vehicles and even airplanes. Plug’s stationary fuel cells are designed for back-up power for data centers and other critical operations involving utilities and governments.
Plug is also building factories in the U.S. and abroad that will supply it with the liquid hydrogen it uses to power its fuel cells, specifically making so-called green hydrogen that is produced from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, resulting in minimum emissions.
The company wrote in the letter, which was posted to the company’s website, that completion of its $290 million liquid hydrogen plant in Genesee County has been delayed because of delays in getting permits in place for a new substation on the site, which is located within the Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park – also known as the STAMP.
“Most of the permits related to the substation are now in place, and we are working in collaboration with NYPA and National Grid with plans to energize the substation in the second half of 2023,” Plug wrote.
Plug’s shares were trading at $17.15 on Thursday. Although that is way below its 52-week high of $46, shares were up more than 17 percent Thursday during what was generally a positive day on Wall Street as investors reacted positively to news that rampant price inflation has been slowing down amid interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
Plug Power revenue rises as Slingerlands site nears completion, Colonie, November 10, 2022