How to Invest in Hydrogen and fuel cells
Short answer
You can invest in hydrogen and fuel cells by buying the individual stocks that fit the thesis (PLUG, BE, BLDP...), holding a broad clean-energy ETF (dedicated hydrogen ETFs have mostly closed), or building a focused hydrogen and fuel cells basket in Walnut. The thesis spans three groups: fuel-cell makers (Plug Power, Bloom Energy, Ballard, FuelCell Energy), companies building the electrolyzers that produce green hydrogen, and the industrial-gas giants (Linde, Air Products, Air Liquide) that actually dominate hydrogen supply today. The pure-play names are speculative and many are still cash-burning, while the industrial-gas incumbents are profitable but get only a slice of revenue from hydrogen. A basket lets you size each group to the risk you are comfortable with.
What is the hydrogen and fuel cell theme?
Hydrogen is an energy carrier: you can make it, store it, and later convert it back into electricity or burn it for heat, with water as the main byproduct. The theme covers the whole chain. Fuel-cell makers like Plug Power, Bloom Energy, Ballard, and FuelCell Energy build the devices that turn hydrogen into power for forklifts, buses, trucks, and data centers. Electrolyzer builders make the equipment that splits water into hydrogen using electricity. And the industrial-gas giants, Linde, Air Products, and Air Liquide, already produce and distribute most of the hydrogen used in industry today. The thesis is that demand for clean hydrogen grows as heavy industry and transport try to cut emissions.
How do hydrogen companies make money?
The business models vary widely, which is why the risk profiles differ so much. The industrial-gas incumbents sell hydrogen and other gases under long-term contracts and are consistently profitable, but hydrogen is only a portion of their revenue. The pure-play fuel-cell and electrolyzer names sell equipment, fuel, and service contracts, often supported by government subsidies and clean-energy incentives. Several of the pure-plays are still pre-profit, funding growth by raising capital and burning cash while they wait for hydrogen demand and green-hydrogen economics to mature. Cummins approaches it as a diversified engine maker, housing fuel cells and electrolyzers inside its Accelera unit while the core diesel and power business pays the bills.
Why are pure-play hydrogen stocks so volatile?
Pure-play hydrogen stocks swing hard because their valuations rest on future demand rather than current profits. Many are unprofitable and dilute shareholders by issuing stock to fund operations, so the share count keeps rising. They are also highly sensitive to policy: tax credits, subsidies, and clean-energy rules can make or break the economics, and any change to that support moves the stocks sharply. Demand for green hydrogen has also been slower to arrive than the early optimism implied. The sector's struggles are visible even in its funds: several dedicated hydrogen ETFs have shrunk and closed because assets and interest fell.
What gets a stock into the Hydrogen and fuel cells theme?
Companies are included when a meaningful part of their thesis is tied to hydrogen or fuel cells: makers of hydrogen fuel cells, builders of electrolyzers that split water into hydrogen, or the large industrial-gas firms that produce, transport, and sell hydrogen at scale. The list deliberately mixes speculative pure-plays with profitable incumbents so the theme is not built only on cash-burning story stocks.
What stocks are in the Hydrogen and fuel cells theme?
Every public name that fits the Hydrogen and fuel cells thesis, with the rationale for inclusion. Click any ticker for the full stock guide. The basket above starts equal-weighted; you set your own target weights inside Walnut.
Plug Power is one of the largest pure-play hydrogen and fuel-cell companies, with fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen fueling. Speculative and still unprofitable, with a long history of cash burn and share dilution.
Bloom Energy (this is the BE ticker) makes solid-oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers, increasingly aimed at powering data centers and AI demand. A pure-play with fast revenue growth but a still-volatile, story-driven stock.
Ballard Power Systems is a long-time fuel-cell pioneer focused on buses, trucks, and heavy mobility. A small, speculative pure-play that remains unprofitable and dependent on adoption of hydrogen transport.
FuelCell Energy builds stationary fuel-cell power platforms, including packaged blocks for on-site and data-center power. A speculative, cash-burning pure-play with a low share price and ongoing losses.
Linde is the world's largest industrial-gas company and a leading producer and distributor of hydrogen at industrial scale. A profitable incumbent where hydrogen is one slice of a much larger, steadier business.
Air Products is a major industrial-gas producer with large clean-hydrogen and gasification projects. Profitable and established, giving the theme a steadier anchor than the pure-plays, though hydrogen is only part of revenue.
Air Liquide (US-traded ADR) is one of the big three industrial-gas incumbents and a major hydrogen supplier worldwide. A profitable anchor; note the ADR can be thinly traded versus its home listing.
Cummins houses its fuel-cell and electrolyzer efforts in the Accelera zero-emissions unit, while its core diesel and power business stays profitable. Diversified exposure to hydrogen without pure-play cash burn; note Cummins has pulled back on electrolyzer sales.
How to invest in Hydrogen and fuel cells
There are a few ways to get exposure. The most aggressive is buying the speculative pure-plays directly: Plug Power (PLUG), Bloom Energy (BE), Ballard (BLDP), and FuelCell Energy (FCEL). These offer the most upside if hydrogen demand takes off, but several are cash-burning and unprofitable, dilute shareholders to fund operations, and lean heavily on subsidies, so they can fall just as fast as they rise. A steadier route is the industrial-gas incumbents, Linde (LIN), Air Products (APD), and Air Liquide (AIQUY), which already produce and sell hydrogen at scale and are profitable, though hydrogen is only one part of what they do. ETF proxies such as HDRO and HJEN have historically bundled these names together, but note that dedicated hydrogen ETFs have struggled, so broad clean-energy or industrials funds are often the practical alternative.
Building a focused hydrogen and fuel cells basket in Walnut lets you combine the two ends of the spectrum, sizing the speculative pure-plays small and anchoring with the profitable industrial-gas names, then tracking the whole thesis as one position with target weights. Be candid with yourself about the risk: this is a thematic, long-horizon bet that depends on policy support and demand that has so far arrived slowly, and the pure-plays can go to zero. Walnut never trades for you and is not an investment adviser; it helps you research, organize, and place your own orders through your connected broker.
The bottom line on Hydrogen and fuel cells
Hydrogen and fuel cells pair highly speculative pure-plays, several of which are still losing money and depend on subsidies and future demand, with steadier industrial-gas anchors like Linde and Air Products that already sell hydrogen profitably. The pure-plays offer the most upside if the theme works and the most downside if it does not, so many people who follow this thesis weight the profitable incumbents more heavily than the story stocks.
FAQ
What is the hydrogen and fuel cell theme?
+
It is a group of companies tied to producing, storing, and using hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. It spans fuel-cell makers, builders of the electrolyzers that produce hydrogen, and the large industrial-gas firms that already supply hydrogen at scale. The thesis is that demand for clean hydrogen grows as industry and transport try to cut emissions.
Which stocks are in the hydrogen and fuel cell theme?
+
Common names include the pure-plays Plug Power (PLUG), Bloom Energy (BE), Ballard (BLDP), and FuelCell Energy (FCEL), plus the industrial-gas incumbents Linde (LIN), Air Products (APD), and Air Liquide (AIQUY), and diversified engine maker Cummins (CMI) through its Accelera unit. The theme deliberately mixes speculative pure-plays with profitable incumbents.
What is the difference between pure-play hydrogen stocks and industrial-gas stocks?
+
Pure-plays like Plug Power and FuelCell Energy build their entire business around hydrogen and fuel cells, so they offer the most upside but are often unprofitable and highly volatile. Industrial-gas incumbents like Linde and Air Products already produce and sell hydrogen profitably, but it is only one part of a much larger, steadier business.
Are there hydrogen and fuel cell ETFs?
+
There have been dedicated hydrogen ETFs such as HDRO and HJEN, but the category has struggled and several funds have shrunk or closed as assets and interest fell. That is itself a signal of how hard the theme has been. Many people get exposure instead through broad clean-energy or industrials funds, or by holding the individual stocks directly.
How do I invest in hydrogen and fuel cells?
+
You can buy the individual stocks that fit the thesis, hold a thematic ETF proxy, or build a focused hydrogen and fuel cells basket in Walnut and place the orders through your connected broker. A basket lets you weight the speculative pure-plays small and anchor with the profitable industrial-gas names, then track the whole thesis as one position.
Is hydrogen and fuel cells a good investment?
+
It is a high-risk, long-horizon theme. The pure-plays can deliver large gains if hydrogen demand takes off, but many are cash-burning, dilute shareholders, and depend on subsidies, so they can also fall sharply or fail. Whether it suits you depends on your goals and risk tolerance. Walnut is not an investment adviser; it helps you research and place your own trades.
Why are pure-play hydrogen stocks considered speculative and cash-burning?
+
Many pure-plays are not yet profitable and fund their operations by repeatedly raising capital, which dilutes existing shareholders. Their valuations rest on future demand rather than current earnings, and that demand for green hydrogen has arrived more slowly than early optimism suggested. They are also very sensitive to changes in government subsidies and clean-energy policy.
What is the difference between green and grey hydrogen?
+
Grey hydrogen is made from natural gas without capturing the carbon emissions, and it is how most hydrogen is produced today. Green hydrogen is made by using renewable electricity to split water in an electrolyzer, producing almost no emissions. The bull case for the theme rests on green hydrogen getting cheaper, but it is still more expensive than grey, which is a key risk.
Who are the industrial-gas incumbents in hydrogen?
+
Linde (LIN), Air Products (APD), and Air Liquide (AIQUY) are the big three industrial-gas companies, and together they produce and distribute most of the hydrogen used in industry today. Unlike the pure-plays, they are profitable and established, which is why many investors treat them as the steadier anchor of a hydrogen thesis even though hydrogen is only part of their revenue.
Can I build a hydrogen and fuel cells basket in Walnut?
+
Yes. You can create a basket with a written thesis, choose constituents such as the pure-plays and industrial-gas incumbents, set target weights, and place the orders through your connected broker. Walnut tracks the basket against your targets over time, but it never trades for you and is not an investment adviser.
Build the Hydrogen and fuel cells basket in Walnut
Walnut's AI assistant takes the thesis above, proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights, and lets you fund the basket through your existing broker. You approve every order; we never trade on your behalf.
Other themes
- AI infrastructure. Picks and shovels of the AI buildout: GPUs, networking, foundries, and the software platforms training the largest models.
- Data center power and cooling. The grid, switchgear, liquid cooling, and electrical contracting that AI data centers can't run without.
- Semiconductors. The full chip stack: designers, foundries, equipment makers, materials suppliers, and packaging specialists.
- Defense and modernization. Software, sensors, and specialty materials at the center of US and allied defense buildouts.
- Critical materials. Rare earths, specialty metals, and strategic materials at the center of supply chain reshoring.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Theme membership is descriptive, not prescriptive; nothing on this page should be read as a recommendation. Always verify current financials and your own circumstances before investing.