Hydrogen shares - Environmental technology to take off in 2023: Plug Power, dynaCERT, ThyssenKrupp and Uniper

Plug Power and ThyssenKrupp - It is the pace that counts

When looking for industrial relevance, one comes across Plug Power in the US and the technology powerhouse ThyssenKrupp in Germany. Joe Biden's programs for the future hold out the prospect of funding totaling USD 450 billion. It is now essential that the public sector, via the local authorities, decides on and implements appropriate investments. Plug Power will land some of these projects with its fuel cell technology, as the US company has already successfully implemented large projects at Walmart, Lidl, Amazon and Home Depot. As of the third quarter of 2022, Plug Power reported an order backlog of 1.5 gigawatts and a revenue potential of more than USD 25 billion by 2030. Major projects are now coming on stream with well-known partners such as Renault (HYVIA), Korea's SK Group and Australia's Fortescue Futures. In the US alone, the climate protection measures included are expected to lead to a reduction in harmful CO2 emissions of around 40% by 2030 compared with 2005.

German technology company ThyssenKrupp has launched Nucera, a hydrogen subsidiary. Although the IPO has been postponed for the time being, the Company is already active worldwide with its partner. Nucera is heavily involved in Australia with PSG, and the partnership aims to develop industrial methods for hydrogen production. The world's smallest molecule can be used in a variety of ways, for example, as a base material for liquid ammonia and methanol, in methanation, as an energy source for fuel cells, as synthesis gas or for feeding into the natural gas grid.

After a good start to the year in 2022, Plug Power shares experienced a real sell-off with a loss of 56%. After great euphoria, stock market players ultimately realized that public budgets would not be achieved so quickly and everything would take a little longer. ThyssenKrupp stock was still above EUR 10 in January and found itself at EUR 4.18 at the end of September. There is much to suggest that the losers of 2022 will take off again at the beginning of the year.

dynaCERT - With good prospects into the new year

Unfortunately, conventional diesel drives still dominate the transportation and logistics sector. However, the exhibitors at the last IAA Transportation in Hanover have quite different goals: They want to lead truck transport into a climate-neutral logistics era. This requires a willingness to invest and appropriate technological support.

For the Canadian technology company dynaCERT, there have recently been some notable successes in the distribution of its hydrogen solutions HydraGEN and HydraLytica. The ready-to-sell solutions reduce emissions from diesel vehicles and couple operational data with recording via software for later receipt of carbon credits. The technology from dynaCERT is an "H2-on-demand" solution that can transition existing fleet associations to a world of reduced climate gases. A boost for dynaCERT could be VERRA's anticipated certification of its technology, as their global standards and frameworks serve as a linchpin for channeling funding into activities that address some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

By year's end, the Company reported a veritable run on its partially modified systems, which are used in public transportation vehicles and trucks, mining vehicles, oilfield drilling rigs, power generation facilities and rail vehicles. dynaCERT's sales division continues to build momentum in these sectors and is exploring additional markets to reach a diversified user base with a global impact. CEO Jim Payne comments, "Our team of engineers and staff have worked tirelessly to ensure our product line can meet a variety of needs and that it is robust enough to withstand the rigorous challenges of deploying our technology in harsh operating conditions around the globe."

From Triple-A Analytics GmbH of Austria came another environmental award under the United Nations' global sustainability standards, the Smart Sustainable Company Rating Seal. The hoped-for VERRA certification could also be released at any moment, which will likely give the stock a major boost. DYA shares currently cost about EUR 0.12 and have a market capitalization of only EUR 44 million. That is less than has been invested in the development of future technologies in recent years.

Uniper - On the way with hydrogen for some time now

The hard-hit Uniper Group is also playing a role in the hydrogen sector. In order to make the European electricity mix greener, it is trying to gradually decarbonize everything that is electrically powered. Without question, the key to the successful use of hydrogen is that the gas is produced in a CO2-free process. Uniper has been using wind energy to produce 100% green hydrogen for nearly a decade. The Company now plans to turn its three existing plants, Wilhelmshaven, Maasvlakte (Netherlands) and Killingholme (United Kingdom), into veritable hydrogen centers. All three have access to the sea and thus the possibility of using offshore wind power to operate electrolysis plants.

Now that the German government has decided to rescue the Company, it is, of course, questionable whether the H2 gigawatt plans can still be turned into reality. Because at the moment, Uniper is fighting for sheer survival because of its gas imbalance. In Wilhelmshaven and Maasvlakte, it is possible to unload imported hydrogen and low-CO2 ammonia, which can be converted into hydrogen, from ships. Wilhelmshaven alone could thus cover about 15% of Germany's hydrogen demand by 2030. It remains questionable whether the necessary financiers can still be found for the immense investments in the current bailout mode.

The fight against global warming is becoming increasingly urgent because the change in global weather is noticeable. Minus 45 degrees in the northeastern United States is as unusual as 15 degrees at Christmas in Germany. Hydrogen stocks were among the shooting stars in 2021 - there is much to suggest that the sector could rally again in 2023.