Hydrogen Ramp-Up: High Costs Are Slowing the Industry – Investors Turn to First Hydrogen, Plug Power, and Nel

Plug Power: Vertical Integration and Strategic Capital Raising

Plug Power covers the entire value chain from the production of liquid green hydrogen to turnkey fuel cell systems. The company equips the forklift fleets of major retail groups such as Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot with its GenDrive fuel cells and the associated GenFuel infrastructure. Under new CEO Jose Luis Crespo, the focus is on greater capital discipline. In the first quarter of 2026, consolidated revenue rose by 22.3% to USD 163.51 million, while the company reported a net loss of approximately USD 245 million. Thanks to deep cost cuts in maintenance and logistics as part of the Quantum Leap program, service costs per unit fell by over 30%, while the fuel margin increased by 54 percentage points over the same period. Plug Power is also streamlining its operations through other measures, such as real estate sales. According to the company, its project pipeline totals over USD 8 billion. However, it remains to be seen whether the company will be able to convert this pipeline into revenue.

Nel Downsizes and Sets New Standards for Electrolyzers

The long-established Norwegian company Nel operates as a pure-play technology and original equipment manufacturer for electrolyzers, serving industrial and energy companies worldwide. In the first quarter of 2026, the group reported a 5% decline in revenue from customer contracts to NOK 148 million and recorded a net loss of NOK 144 million. CEO Håkon Volldal has reduced the total workforce by 26% since its peak and is continuing to adjust capacity in both segments to the current demand situation. The company's total order backlog currently stands at NOK 1,113 million, of which NOK 843 million is attributable to PEM systems and NOK 270 million to alkaline systems. Launched in May 2026, the pressure-charged alkaline system enables turnkey total costs of less than USD 1,450 per kW for a 25-MW plant thanks to a modular skid design. This technological advancement significantly reduces the need for expensive downstream compression infrastructure. This could be a strong selling point for Nel's products.

First Hydrogen: Real-World Data and Integrated Fleet Solutions

First Hydrogen operates a fully integrated Hydrogen-as-a-Service model, providing commercial fleet customers with zero-emission light-duty commercial vehicles, including a guaranteed mobile or stationary supply of green hydrogen. The deployed vehicles achieve a range of more than 630 km, a peak power output of 220 to 300 kW, and use an efficient 90-kW fuel cell system. Winter testing conducted with the energy provider Wales & West Utilities demonstrated stable ranges and performance even in freezing temperatures—in stark contrast to pure battery-electric vehicles. The company is planning a 35-MW hydrogen production facility in Shawinigan, Canada, as well as an assembly plant with a capacity of up to 25,000 vehicles per year. In addition, it stands to benefit from Canada's Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits, which total CAD 17.7 billion.

Technological Diversification in Robotics and Nuclear Power

The young growth company is avoiding pure dependence on the hydrogen market through smart technological diversification. First Hydrogen secured the global rights to partially amphibious, unmanned ground drones equipped with a chassis consisting of eight articulated legs through an exclusive licensing agreement (Letter of Intent) with Exodus Actuation Solutions. First Hydrogen retains 100% of the intellectual property and pays only a moderate licensing fee of 1% on future gross sales. In addition, the subsidiary First Nuclear, in cooperation with the University of Alberta, is researching the use of Small Modular Reactors (SMR)—including possible molten salt fuel variants—for weather-independent hydrogen production, including for AI data centers.

Conclusion: Positioning as a Jack-of-all-Trades Offers Opportunities

As capital-intensive industrial suppliers, Nel and Plug Power are sensitive to market changes; First Hydrogen, on the other hand, is a growth company that aims to innovatively combine decentralized hydrogen mobility with industrial robotics and nuclear power technology. The integration of unmanned ground systems via a Drones-as-a-Service model also offers rapid leverage in a market that, according to Grand View Research, is expected to reach a volume of USD 182.50 billion by 2033 in terms of all autonomous devices. While First Hydrogen must be considered speculative, its multifaceted positioning certainly offers an advantage—those who have their fingers in many pies increase their chances of success. The stock is like a bet on the sustainable tech transformation and therefore requires a certain tolerance for the risks associated with early development phases.