Back in January, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) announced that it was in the process of closing on a $1.6 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with a rate no higher than 6.5%. At the time, Chief Financial Officer Paul Middleton noted that Plug expected to finalize the loan by the third quarter.
This morning, Plug announced that the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) had agreed to provide it with an up to $1.66 billion conditional commitment loan guarantee. The proceeds of the loan will go toward developing and maintaining up to six green hydrogen production facilities.
“We appreciate the partnership with the DOE Loan Programs Office and are pleased to have worked through an intensive due diligence process,” said CEO Andy Marsh. “The loan guarantee will prove instrumental to grow and scale not only Plug’s green hydrogen plant network, but the clean hydrogen industry in the United States.”
PLUG Stock Surges on $1.66 Billion DOE Loan
As the name implies, the loan is conditional. Plug did not state the conditions it must satisfy in order to qualify for the loan, although the company noted that “certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions, including negotiation of definitive financing documents, must be satisfied before funding of the loan guarantee.” In addition, Plug Power didn’t disclose the loan rate.
The loan is expected to help create 100 to 300 jobs during the full-capacity construction period and at least 50 jobs for each facility. Upon completion of the facilities, the hydrogen will power fuel cell-electric vehicles used in transportation and material handling.
In March, Plug also announced that it had resolved its going concern warning issued during its Q3 2023 earnings report. This came after the company announced an up to $1 billion at-the-market (ATM) offering in January.
As of March 31, Plug had $172.87 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $135.03 million a year ago. This compares to net cash used in operating and investing activities of $288.31 million during the first quarter. Net cash provided by financing activities tallied in at $283.06 million.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
