Plug Power, Nel ASA and ITM Power: The lead actors want to get back on stage
Is now the moment for a fresh entry? For a long time, the hydrogen segment seemed to have lost its shine on the stock market. Heavy losses, postponed large-scale projects and rising interest rates had clearly taken their toll on the former market darlings. But for some weeks now, movement has noticeably been returning to the sector. The decisive factor is the rapidly growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence, data centers and the ongoing decarbonization of industry. That is also bringing hydrogen back into sharper focus for institutional investors. The big names in the industry are using this changed mood to reposition themselves operationally and to win back lost trust step by step.
Particularly dynamic was the Norwegian electrolyzer pioneer Nel ASA. The share gained almost 100% within a short time in May. The trigger was less a sudden improvement in the business figures than the hope that the company’s bottom might have been reached. While Nel does have a comfortable liquidity position and remains well positioned technologically, operating losses, the so-far slow implementation of large industrial projects, and the resignation of its long-standing CEO, Håkon Volldal, continue to weigh on sentiment. As a result, the share also corrected its entire gain again within 4 weeks and landed back in the old resistance zone of EUR 0.19 to 0.21. However, the technical picture has deteriorated with the renewed downward move.
Plug Power is also working intensively to leave its role as a crisis candidate behind. Under the leadership of the new CEO Jose Luis Crespo, cost discipline, margin improvements and more consistent operational management are the focus. At the same time, positive news from the project business is mounting. One topic is doing the rounds here: can hydrogen fuel cells be used as a possible solution for the reliable power supply of large AI data centers? Precisely where power grids are reaching their limits, off-grid hydrogen systems could become an important addition in future. Unfortunately, hydrogen is currently still far too expensive to produce compared with nuclear power or gas. Anyone looking closely at Plug Power has, for years, been overlooking the step toward sustainable profitability, which means the share is likely to remain a plaything of speculators. Traders should keep an eye on the fluctuation zone of USD 1.50 to 3.00.
The most impressive rally was at ITM Power. The British company benefits from a significantly higher utilization of its electrolysis capacities. The recently raised revenue guidance for the current financial year put analyst estimates under steam. As a result, the consensus estimates on the LSEG platform reached a price target of 105 GBp. However, the share had already risen by more than 500% to 180 GBp during its initial phase and has since been consolidating. The H2O trio is an investment with elevated risk: only once sustainably profitable revenues emerge from the well-filled project pipelines will it be decided whether the lead actors of the hydrogen sector really return to the big stock-market stage for good.
A.H.T. Syngas Technology: Why the real climate revolution is happening quietly
That German providers can also impress with innovation is shown by the greentech specialist A.H.T. Syngas Technology N.V. (A.H.T. for short). With its gasification technology, the company positions itself as a provider of decentralized energy systems that convert biogenic residual materials into electricity, heat and synthesis gas, thereby substituting for fossil natural gas. While the broad mass, when it comes to the energy transition, is only eyeing billion-euro mega-projects, the real revolution is unfolding quietly and right on consumers’ doorsteps. With proven expertise built up over around 30 years, A.H.T.’s engineers convert local wood, sewage sludge or agricultural waste highly efficiently into valuable energy sources and already serve four continents. The core is a protected thermochemical process that extracts clean electricity, heat and future-proof green molecules from supposed refuse. Unlike competitors that rely on exclusive raw materials, A.H.T. operates within the closed loop of modern environmental protection, the circular economy and self-sufficient supply. The technological showpiece is a unique process that generates a flawless synthesis gas and copes effortlessly even with extremely difficult feedstocks.
That this ecological logic also pays off financially is proven by a project that, with an investment of EUR 1.6 million, lowers annual energy costs by EUR 600,000 and saves 1,500 tonnes of CO₂. Until now, the cleantech company earned its money primarily from pure plant engineering, but the management is now igniting the next stage of the business model. Through long-term operator contracts, plannable, recurring income from energy sales will flow into the coffers in future, which is expected to catapult the margin from around 10% to a proud 18%. An additional new growth driver is the company’s own hydrogen production, which generates exactly 210 kg of the coveted gas from 1.7 tonnes of biomass per hour. Building on this model, the focus, according to CEO Gero Ferges, is now clearly on accelerated growth and a strategic evolution toward an integrated energy provider. Financially, the turnaround is imminent, because after an expected revenue jump to EUR 9 million in 2026, revenues are set to climb to around EUR 23 million by 2028. Fresh capital secures the expansion, while a cooperation in Poland paves direct access to a new market. Reassuring for investors is that top management itself holds almost 40% of all shares and thus is in the same boat as the shareholders. Given this massive expansion dynamic and the still moderate valuation on the stock market, the stock is likely only at the start of a steep upward wave. At times, little A.H.T. could also show up on the M&A lists of larger energy producers at any moment.
CEO Gero Ferges recently provided detailed insights at the 19th International Investment Forum.
Helios Solar AG: A newcomer from Malaysia enters the Regulated Market
The focus on Europe overlooks the global growth momentum toward “NetZero”. Because over the past 20 years, Southeast Asia in particular has been developing into one of the most dynamic solar markets in the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) concludes that investment in clean energy technologies must accelerate to well above USD 2 trillion by the end of the decade even to come close to meeting the goals of the most recent climate conferences. Since private investment can probably only be spurred on by subsidies, many international institutions are helping out. For example, the European Commission is loosening its fiscal rules and enabling member states to make additional investments in power grids, battery storage and renewable energy; the European Investment Bank has funding commitments of EUR 75 billion by 2028 for eligible projects.
With an interesting business model in the various growth regions of Asia and Europe, HELIOS SOLAR AG will step onto the trading floor in Frankfurt at the end of July. The Regulated Market is to be used as a springboard for international expansion. The operational focus is on Malaysia, a market with an estimated solar potential of around 269 gigawatts, of which less than 2% has so far been tapped. In doing so, HELIOS pursues a capital-light EPCC business model, in which planning, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of photovoltaic systems are central, without permanently tying up high equity in its own power-plant portfolios. This strategy is supported by sales partnerships with large financial institutions, which integrate solar systems directly with intelligent financing solutions, thereby easing access for millions of private and commercial customers. At the same time, the company is consistently expanding its offering to include battery storage, digital energy services and long-term power-supply models. The project pipeline includes, among other things, a planned solar park with a capacity of 1 gigawatt and a battery storage of 1,600 MWh, which is intended to combine economic use with nature and species protection. The business model is complemented by the digital customer platform StarPoints, which links sales, customer loyalty and service in its own ecosystem. In this way, HELIOS is developing step by step into an integrated provider of modern energy solutions.
The parameters of the issue sound promising. In total, up to 7.6 million shares are being offered at a fixed offer price of EUR 4.00; the subscription period still runs until July 13. Trading is then set to start on July 28; at full placement, this results in an issue volume of EUR 30.4 million. With a share capital of 38 million shares, this corresponds to a targeted stock-market valuation of around EUR 152 million. The net proceeds from the issue are to flow around 58% into the expansion of the core business in Malaysia, 32% are earmarked for expansion into Germany and Europe, as well as 5% for the build-out of activities in Cambodia and 4% for Singapore. In addition, existing shareholders have committed not to sell their holdings for 36 months, a remarkably long lock-up for the small-cap segment. For investors, this opens access to an early growth story that could run steeply in both Asia and Europe.
Alternative energies are considered the key to a structural solution to Europe’s energy crisis: they strengthen supply, reduce dependencies and bring climate targets within reach. Companies like Plug Power, ITM Power and Nel ASA are driving the decarbonization of industry and mobility forward with electrolysis and hydrogen technologies – and are benefiting from the investment boom. Complementing this, A.H.T. Syngas builds the bridge between circular economy and energy generation by converting waste into synthesis gas. For investors, a high-growth energy ecosystem thus emerges. Newly on the radar: HELIOS SOLAR AG, which, with Asian roots and fresh impetus, is now setting its sights on Europe.
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