Blooming Impact on Hydrogen Energy Market

  • Following the successful release of the Bloom Energy Server and its electrolyzer solution, Bloom Energy has unlocked a host of untapped opportunities in the agricultural, travel, and energy sectors.
  • The company enjoyed a strong financial performance in 2021, posting a 22.4%increase in its annual revenue as well as a record backlog of 6,549 systems.
  • Through partnerships with the likes of SK ecosystem, Heliogen, Inc., and SoCalGas, Bloom Energy is expanding its international reach.

Based in San Jose, California, Bloom Energy is a solid oxide fuel cell manufacturer focused on producing on-site electricity solutions. As fossil fuel shortages and price hikes persist and environmental concerns take center stage, Bloom Energy finds itself striving to capitalize on the rising global demand for clean energy solutions.

Let’s take a closer look at Bloom Energy and see what this company is doing to evolve the energy sector and become one of the leading hydrogen fuel cell stocks in the process.

2021 in review

Central to Bloom Energy’s green energy strategy is the Bloom Energy Server, a platform that converts natural gas, biogas, and hydrogen into electricity without combustion. Based on the company’s solid oxide fuel cell technology the Server is capable of combustion-free energy conversion, thereby minimizing CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions1. The Server also has renewable biogas, carbon capture, and marine applications.2

For 2021, Bloom Energy recorded a strong financial performance, increasing its annual revenue by 22.4% to $972.2 million after receiving acceptances for 1,879 energy systems (where installations are performed) throughout the year. During the fourth quarter, the company saw a record ending backlog of 6,549 systems compared to just 1,994 the previous year.3

In order to make this financial success possible, Bloom Energy delivered several major developments in the field of hydrogen energy.

Advancing Green Energy Production

Together with SK ecoplant, the San Jose-based company made history by installing the first-ever solid oxide fuel cell server in a combined heat and power plant built in South Korea. The fuel cells provided by Bloom Energy are expected to generate 35,000 MWh of clean power annually which will be used to supply electricity and heat to local communities in and around Donghae City.4

The company has also worked to improve clean energy production in its home country. After being selected as part of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) Clean Energy Request for Proposals, the company set out to install its Bloom Energy Servers in the town of Colchester, Connecticut.5

Consisting of 10 megawatts of fuel cells, the infrastructure is expected to reduce the community’s carbon emissions by 3,850 tons per year and its pollution and particulate matter by 99 percent, thereby aligning with the State of Connecticut’s clean energy ambitions in the process.6

Turning its attention to renewable biogas, Bloom Energy installed a one megawatt fuel cell at Bar 20 dairy farms in Kerman, California in what is its first foray into dairy waste. Combined with a methane digester and gas clean-up skid, Bloom Energy’s fuel cells produce on-site, renewable energy from dairy cow manure.7

By using Bloom Energy’s fuel cells for energy production, Bar 20 is able to eliminate air pollution and carbon emissions; a much-needed transformation in an area with some of the worst air quality in the United States.8

In a move that would go far in Bloom Energy’s quest to secure its status as one of the leading green hydrogen stocks on the innovation front, the company was selected to supply power to India’s first hydrogen microgrid by local energy conglomerate NTPC Limited.9

By supplying electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell technologies, Bloom Energy would be assisting in the execution of a project involving the exploration of the usage of off-grid hydrogen energy storage and microgrid installations at designated locations throughout India. Bloom Energy’s technologies were scheduled to be used to produce green hydrogen using renewable energy sourced from a nearby floating solar farm.10

Heading into 2022, Bloom Energy continued its race to become one of the leading hydrogen stocks by accelerating hydrogen production in South Korea. The company supplied a high temperature solid oxide electrolyzer to a 130 kilowatt (kW) installation in Gumi and is expected to operate on a daily basis using a variety of combined renewables including solar and wind.11

While Bloom Energy has engineered an array of leading innovations, it has also established new opportunities for growth by collaborating with other hydrogen power stocks.

Strategic opportunities

SK ecoplant, an affiliate of South Korea’s SK Group, expanded its partnership with Bloom Energy through its $4.5 billion purchase of 500 megawatts of power to be delivered over the next three years. In return, the company will acquire 10 million shares in Bloom Energy while receiving the option to acquire up to 11 million additional shares. 12

Through this partnership, the companies hope to increase their reach in both the U.S. and South Korean hydrogen markets.

Sun hydrogen

Bloom Energy was also able to expand its electrolyzer business by integrating its technologies with those of Heliogen, Inc. This collaboration provides Bloom Energy with access to Heliogen’s concentrated solar energy system, thereby creating an opportunity to enter the solar energy space and emerge as a sun hydrogen stock. Using Bloom Energy’s electrolyzer and Heliogen’s solar energy system, the companies presented a successful demonstration of hydrogen production from their integrated product.13

In an effort to help California meet its goal of carbon neutrality, Bloom Energy partnered with SoCalGas to integrate hydrogen production into the natural gas infrastructure of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. Bloom Energy’s electrolyzer will be used to produce hydrogen that will then be injected into Caltech’s natural gas infrastructure to create a 10% hydrogen blend.14

The success of this project would provide Bloom Energy and SoCalGas with a roadmap to powering California with clean, low-carbon energy.

Through a partnership with Chantiers de l’Atlantique and a division of MSC Group, Bloom Energy has entered into the maritime industry. The companies collaborated in the production of a cruise ship powered by solid oxide fuel cell technology. The ship, which is to be fitted with 150 kilowatts of Bloom fuel cells, is part of the MSC Group’s broader plan to reach net zero emissions for its entire fleet by 2050.15

Full Steam Ahead

Through its multiple collaborations and expeditions into agriculture, travel, energy, and heating, Bloom Energy is unlocking an array of previously untapped opportunities that have driven the company’s financial success. 

Because selecting the best hydrogen stocks to invest in is an almost impossible task, consider investing in a hydrogen ETF such as HDRO by Defiance ETFs. This will enable you to diversify your investment capital by investing in a focused portfolio of companies poised to capitalize on potential future returns arising from innovations in the hydrogen space. Diversification does not assure profit, nor does it protect against a loss.

As of this writing the following stocks mentioned are current holding of Defiance’s ETF, HDRO:  Bloom Energy Corp.

For current performance and holdings, please visit defianceetfs.com/HDRO


1  “AlwaysON, Clean, Affordable Electric Power”, accessed 14 April 2022, https://www.bloomenergy.com/technology/

2  “A Platform to Power the Future”, accessed 14 April 2022, https://www.bloomenergy.com/technology/powering-the-future/

3 “Bloom Energy Announces Fourth Quarter 2021 and Full Year 2021 Financial Results and Updates Long-term Growth Prospects”, 10 February 2022, https://www.bloomenergy.com/news/bloom-energy-announces-fourth-quarter-2021-and-full-year-2021-financial-results-and-updates-long-term-growth-prospects/

4 “CHP plant in South Korea selects Bloom Energy fuel cells”, 22 July 2021, https://www.powerengineeringint.com/decentralized-energy/cogeneration-chp/chp-plant-in-south-korea-selects-bloom-energy-fuel-cells/

5 “Town of Colchester Now Home to 10 Megawatts of Bloom Energy Fuel Cells, Bringing Clean Energy to Community and Reducing Emissions”, 28 October 2021, https://www.yahoo.com/now/town-colchester-now-home-10-125900125.html

6 “Town of Colchester Now Home to 10 Megawatts of Bloom Energy Fuel Cells, Bringing Clean Energy to Community and Reducing Emissions,” 28 October 2021, https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/town-of-colchester-now-home-to-10-megawatts-of-bloom-energy-fuel-cells-bringing-clean-energy-to-community-and-reducing-emissions/

7 “Bloom Energy delivers renewable power from farm waste”, 09 November 2021, https://www.bioenergy-news.com/news/bloom-energy-delivers-renewable-power-from-farm-waste/

8 “Bloom Energy Delivers Renewable Power from Dairy Farm Waste”, 08 November 2021, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211108005353/en/

9 “Bloom Energy to Power India’s First Green Hydrogen Microgrid”, 20 December 2021, https://www.bloomenergy.com/news/bloom-energy-to-power-indias-first-green-hydrogen-microgrid/

10 “Bloom Energy to take part in Indian green H2-based energy storage project”, 21 December 2021, https://renewablesnow.com/news/bloom-energy-to-take-part-in-indian-green-h2-based-energy-storage-project-766483/

11 “Bloom Energy Electrolyzer Accelerates the Future of Hydrogen Production in South Korea”, 06 April 2022, https://www.bloomenergy.com/news/bloom-energy-electrolyzer-accelerates-the-future-of-hydrogen-production-in-south-korea/

12 “SK ecoplant expands partnership with Bloom Energy in US”, 26 October 2021, https://www.power-technology.com/news/sk-ecoplant-bloom-energy/

13 “Heliogen and Bloom Energy Lead the Way to Produce Low-Cost, Green Hydrogen Following Successful Demonstration”, 16 November 2021, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heliogen-bloom-energy-lead-way-130000085.html

14 “SoCalGas and Bloom Energy to work on gas blending project”, 15 December 2021, https://www.h2bulletin.com/socalgas-and-bloom-energy-to-work-on-gas-blending-project/

15 “Bloom Energy, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and MSC Chart a Course for Cruise Ships Powered by Clean Energy”, 16 December 2021, https://www.bloomenergy.com/news/bloom-energy-chantiers-de-latlantique-and-msc-chart-a-course-for-cruise-ships-powered-by-clean-energy/