Is Bloom Energy Stock a Buy?
A global thrust toward renewable sources of energy, falling costs of generation, and high investor enthusiasm sent renewable energy stocks soaring in 2020. With a 277% year-to-date rise as of this writing, fuel cell stock Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) was no different. But is Bloom Energy more promising than other fuel cell manufacturers? Let's find out.
Bloom Energy offers fuel cells primarily in the U.S., and also in Japan, India, and South Korea. The company's fuel cell technology differs from what most other fuel cell companies typically offer. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are currently the most widely used fuel cells. These are compact and can start or stop quickly, and so are useful in vehicles such as forklifts. PEM fuel cells use hydrogen as an input. Hydrogen fuel cells' only byproduct is water, making it one of the cleanest sources of energy.
In contrast, Bloom Energy uses solid oxide fuel cell technology, which converts input fuel into electricity through an electrochemical process without burning the fuel. The input fuel is usually natural gas or biogas. Bloom Energy's value proposition is increased reliability compared to electric power grids, but with reduced emissions, as the fuel is not burned. The company's fuel cells can also use renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind, as input and electrolyze it to produce hydrogen, which can later be used to produce electricity. So, its fuel cells are fuel flexible, compared to hydrogen fuel cells.
Source Fool.com
