Plug Power Jumps 14% as Barrow Hydrogen Gets Green Light and AI Sector Lift Reshapes the Narrative

Plug Power shares jump 14.2% as Barrow Green Hydrogen project gets final investment decision, while Bloom Energy's $2.6B AI deal lifts the hydrogen sector.

Plug Power shares surged 14.2% on Thursday, closing at $3.78 on volume exceeding 115 million shares — well above the daily average. The rally drew fuel from two distinct catalysts: the final investment decision for the company’s Barrow Green Hydrogen project in the UK and a landmark deal between a competitor and an AI infrastructure provider that sent a sympathetic wave across the hydrogen sector.

The Barrow project, a 30-megawatt facility in Cumbria, has now moved from development into construction. Developed by GHECO — a joint venture formed in 2023 between Schroders Greencoat and Carlton Power — the plant will be equipped with six of Plug Power’s GenEco PEM electrolysers and is expected to produce roughly 100 gigawatt-hours of green hydrogen annually. The off-taker is Kimberly-Clark, the consumer goods giant behind Andrex and Kleenex, which aims to cut natural gas consumption at its Barrow-in-Furness site by up to 50% and eliminate around 18,300 tonnes of CO? per year. Electricity for the electrolysis will come via a long-term power purchase agreement with SEFE. The project is supported by the UK’s first hydrogen allocation round, HAR1, under the Hydrogen Business Model.

Barrow marks the first major operational milestone under CEO Jose Luis Crespo, who took the helm in March 2026. It is also the first of three projects tied to a 55-megawatt framework agreement in Britain; the remaining sites at Trafford and Langage are pending their own investment decisions.

Alongside the project news, a sector-wide lift came from a multibillion-dollar deal struck by competitor Bloom Energy. Bloom secured a contract with Nebius, an AI infrastructure provider, for 328 megawatts of fuel cell capacity — a package valued at up to $2.6 billion. Investors immediately extrapolated that Plug Power could land similar orders from energy-hungry data centres powering the artificial intelligence boom. While the move amounts to a sympathy rally, the underlying logic is bolstered by the sheer power demands of modern AI infrastructure.

Plug Power’s own first-quarter results, released earlier, reinforced the positive momentum. Revenue reached $163.5 million, up 22% year-on-year and well above the consensus estimate of around $140 million. The net loss per share came in at $0.08, slightly better than the expected $0.09 loss. Gross margin improved sharply, from minus 55% in the prior-year quarter to minus 13%, driven by the company’s “Project Quantum Leap” cost-reduction programme.

Analyst reaction remains mixed despite the rally. The consensus rating is “hold,” with a median price target of $3.42 — a level the stock has now exceeded. B. Riley maintains a buy recommendation and a $5.00 target, while Susquehanna is more cautious with a “neutral” stance and a $3.75 target. Concerns centre on cash runway: the company holds roughly $800 million in liquidity, but analysts estimate that covers less than a year of operations, and recent capital raises have diluted existing shareholders. That tension was visible earlier in March 2026, when the stock dropped to around $1.90 after certain US federal loan guarantees were frozen and a New York project site was abandoned.

Plug Power puts its global project pipeline at over $2 billion. Management has set its sights on achieving positive EBITDAS by the fourth quarter of 2026. Barrow’s successful transition from award to shovel-ready construction provides the first concrete evidence that the company can move large-scale hydrogen projects through the full development cycle. Whether Trafford and Langage follow will test how durable that argument proves — and whether the AI-driven speculation can be converted into actual contract signings.