Big 6 months ahead9 Jun 2021 15:00
We are now close to the finalisation of the AFC fuel cell integration with ABB's charging system. This is due to be ready in Q3 so could theoretically be just weeks away.
We have had enough clues that there are already orders waiting to be placed by ABB's client-base so I expect that these orders will follow soon after announcement that the integrated solution is ready. The fact that, even before any of this is officially finalised, ABB have invested directly into AFC and have signed a new agreement to extend the partnership to include the global data centre market, should tell you all you need to know about how things are progressing behind the scenes and the likelihood of near-term orders. Not only will this generate the initial revenues (and profit) for AFC from the sale of the fuel cell balance of plant, it will then generate recurring annuity revenues via the Long Term Services Agreement which is where most of the value to the business will be derived from in the longer term.
We also have the commencement of the delayed Acciona trial later this year and the finalisation of the S-Series cell prototype stack for this December (with the commercial stack to follow before the end of 2022).
On a more speculative note, unexpected big news items can easily appear out of the blue with AFC, e.g. sale/licencing of AlkaMem to non fuel-cell markets (and the recurring annuity revenues that this will generate), a new electrolysis arm of the business as suggested by Adam Bond, announcements of partnerships with new distributors (in new regions perhaps, such as Asia...), or even partnerships with large plant hire businesses in the construction sector.
The AFC fuel cell solutions are developing at a rapid pace - we heard just recently at the Capital Markets Event about the development of the fully containerised (including auxiliary equipment) solution. This was the first time we have heard about this but it was made clear that this development had been ongoing for a while. Similarly, when we first heard about AlkaMem nearly two years ago, that came out of nowhere so don't be surprised to see other big innovations, especially considering the big investment in new staff/scientists into the company over the past 12 months.
In the next few months, we will also be seeing various countries publishing their formal commitments/plans for transitioning to net-zero, ahead of COP26 in November. The clean energy sector will very much be back in focus again and the big money will likely rotate back into these stocks.
I really think the only way investors will miss out here is through lack of patience, completely misreading the market/impending news or trying to be too clever by trading in and out of the stock. Sit on your hands and I think you will be rewarded.
Good to see that the price has consolidated nicely these past few months following the big move up in November/December. I think the next leg up could be underway shortly.
All IMO. Good luc