Wall Street Is Going Crazy For A Revolutionary Technology That Could Change The Energy Market As We Know It
Stocks of companies that develop and sell fuel cells are going crazy — their shares are up about 50% in the past five days.
The gainers include:
- Plug Power: 67%
- Ballard: 48%
- Fuel Cell: 49%
Among the catalysts for the surge was the announcement of a huge new Wal-Mart order for Plug Power's fuel cells — which use Ballard materials — as well as a strong revenue report from Fuel Cell.
The market caps of these companies are tiny, but still, the surge cannot be ignored. Are we really on the verge of fuel cells going mainstream?
Let's back up for a moment.
What are fuel cells?
Basically, fuel cells take hydrogen and turn it into electricity. The most common way of doing this involves using a proton exchange membrane.
This is a membrane that separates out the positive and negative charges — the proton and electron — of a hydrogen atom. The membrane is treated in such a way that the electron cannot pass through it; instead, it only captures the proton. This allows the electron to go through an external circuit and get momentarily captured as electricity.
The exhaust product from the system is created by the proton and electron recombining with an oxygen molecule, which is flowing through the other side of the membrane. The only "waste" created from a fuel cell is water heat, meaning they are essentially carbon neutral.
Via Ballard, here's the visual demonstration. The flow field plate is charged to separate out the proton and electron.
Hydrogen and oxygen pass through along either side of the charged membrane.
Keep reading Fuel Cell Rally – Business Insider.
