Hydrogen fuel cell maker brings in $166 million in capital

Plug Power draws in funds that could help propel its business toward profitability

Plug Power, a prominent maker of hydrogen fuel cells, has announced that it has some $116 million in working capital to spend. These funds were acquired through the sale of 22.6 million shares of common stock at $5.50 each. Many of these stocks were discounted, but managed to generate a great deal of financial success for the company. The funds may help Plug Power come closer to achieving its goal of attaining profitability.

Fuel cell companies continue to chase after profitability

Fuel cell developers like Plug Power have been seeing a great deal of success in recent months. These companies have managed to find traction in markets where the demand for renewable energy and clean technology is high. The materials handling sector is one such area, with the auto industry also showing a great deal of favor for fuel cell technology. In several industrial sectors, fuel cells have been used for several years and for various energy-oriented purposes. As fuel cell technology becomes more advanced, these industrial sectors are beginning to focus more heavily on using these  energy systems.

Plug Power continues to see success in its favored business segments

Plug Power has established a strong presence in the materials handling space, where it develops fuel cells that are used to power forklift trucks. These fuel cells replace the lead acid batteries that forklift trucks have used for several years. By switching to fuel cells, Plug Power notes that productivity in materials handling can be increased because these energy systems are both easy to fuel and more durable than the conventional batteries that had been widely used throughout the sector.

Plug Power may attain profitability this year

Profitability has been an elusive goal for every company in the fuel cell industry. One of the reasons for this is the notoriously high cost of fuel cells themselves. These energy systems make use of expensive materials, which makes them somewhat unattractive from an economic standpoint. In Plug Power's 17-year history, it has only managed to approach its goal of profitability without actually achieving it.