Investing.com -- Shares of Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) skyrocketed 70% on Friday after the company announced a deal with American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) to supply up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of fuel cells, marking the largest commercial procurement of such technology globally.
The agreement positions Bloom Energy as a key player in meeting the rising energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
The deal includes an initial order of 100 megawatts (MW) of Bloom's solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), with further expansions anticipated in 2025. The fuel cells will be co-located at customer sites, delivering clean, reliable, and high-density power—capable of producing 100 MW per acre—to support the substantial energy loads driven by AI technology.
"We are thrilled to be working with AEP as they lead the charge to bring innovative solutions to the transforming electricity market," said KR Sridhar, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Bloom Energy.
"With our proven track record of more than 1.3 GW deployed and a fully functional factory that can deliver GWs of products per year, we are ready and able to meet this rapid electricity demand growth."
Following the news, analysts at Piper Sandler upgraded Bloom Energy to Overweight, saying the AEP deal "changes the game" for the company.
Piper Sandler estimates the agreement could generate $3 billion in equipment revenue and open doors to partnerships with other utilities.
The firm raised its price target for Bloom Energy to $20 per share, highlighting the potential for the company to be viewed on par with established data center equipment providers.
"In our view, the scale of the agreement (we estimate equipment alone could be worth $3.0B) with a large utility provides proof of concept that BE's product can be utilized to power large-scale datacenters and could open the door to future arrangements with other utilities," wrote the firm.