Plug Power’s leaders are optimistic, committed to a future in Monroe County after reorganization

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Plug Power is doubling down on its Monroe County site, expanding operations and adding staff there, as the Albany County-based business takes steps to streamline operations and increase efficiencies.

And while other Plug sites did not fare so well — including the company’s proposed development in Genesee County — the Rochester region will benefit from the reorganization, said Andy Marsh, president and CEO of Plug Power, during an interview at the firm’s $125 million gigafactory in West Henrietta last week.

“This facility is really important to us,” Marsh said. “There’s no place like this in the world.”

The 155,000-square-foot local site that occupies a converted Alstom electronics control system plant opened in 2021.

The local site is picking up manufacturing operations previously done at Plug’s former sites in Spokane Valley, Wash. and the Albany area, Marsh said, making it Plug’s go-to site for hydrogen fuel cell stacks that are incorporated into the company’s fuel cell systems and electrolyzers.

Robert Scheffler, Plug’s senior director of operations, said the local site is currently hiring and now has roughly 400 employees. He expects that number to increase to the mid-400s by year-end.

In addition to the new hires, the site is also adding an automated manufacturing line to increase capacity, which will be up and running this summer.

Scheffler said the goal is to make the local site a stack center of excellence. He added that the workforce played a role in Plug’s decision to invest more in the site.

“There’s no doubt that the quality of the workforce here was a driving factor,” he said.

While the Monroe County site will benefit from the changes, Plug’s proposed $677 million project at the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in Genesee County, is now on hold, as a result.

Marsh said the slower than anticipated growth of the sector is the reason for the change in plans for that site.

Mark Masse, senior vice president of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, said Plug Power officials have been keeping the GCEDC informed of the company’s project status at the STAMP site, adding that the GCEDC remains committed to the continued build-out of high-tech projects there.

Plug Power is a developer of hydrogen fuel cell systems that replace conventional batteries in equipment and vehicles powered by electricity.

The company ranks as the world’s largest buyer of liquid hydrogen, and it has already deployed more than 69,000 fuel cell systems and 250 fueling stations.

It generates most of its revenue by selling hydrogen fuel cell systems for electric forklifts, automated guided vehicles and ground support equipment. Its largest customers include Amazon and Walmart.

Plug sells directly to its customers and through joint venture partners into multiple environments, including material handling, e-mobility, power generation and industrial applications.

The company has recently received federal support for its efforts, including nearly $76 million in federal funding that was announced in March from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing, Recycling and Electrolysis programs.

Marsh said a substantial portion of that money would be used at the West Henrietta site, especially to implement automation processes to increase output there.

The company is also waiting for final approval of a loan of up to nearly $1.67 billion from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to finance the development, construction and ownership of up to six green hydrogen production facilities. A conditional commitment was given in May.

The funding comes at a time when Plug is facing its share of financial challenges.

In response to those challenges, the company announced an initiative in February designed to significantly reduce its annual operational expenses by more than $75 million, which included plant closures, such as the one in Spokane Valley.

The business also recently announced it would move its headquarters from Latham to Slingerlands, a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County.

In early May, Plug reported first quarter revenues of $120 million and an EPS loss of 46 cents. That compares to revenue of $210 million and an EPS loss of 35 cents during the same period the previous year.

In addition to cash flow challenges, the business has faced other problems of late, including a class action lawsuit from shareholders who claim the business recently gave false or misleading information related to its operations and performance.

Despite the challenges, Marsh, who has led the business since 2008 and has a background in telecommunications, is confident of Plug’s growth, given the recent push from companies and governments around the world to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

He believes the industry where Plug does business will have a major impact, noting the hydrogen economy is critical to the world’s energy transition.

“There’s an opportunity here to be much bigger than telecom,” he said.

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