Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

2.  Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Interim Financial Statements

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist solely of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for all periods presented, have been made. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted. These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

The information presented in the accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2019 has been derived from the Company’s December 31, 2019 audited consolidated financial statements.

Leases

The Company is a lessee in noncancelable (1) operating leases, primarily related to sale/leaseback transactions with financial institutions for deployment of the Company’s products at certain customer sites, and (2) finance leases, also primarily related to sale/leaseback transactions with financial institutions for similar commercial purposes.  The Company accounts for leases in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 842, Leases (ASC Topic 842), as amended.

The Company determines if an arrangement is or contains a lease at contract inception. The Company recognizes a right of use (ROU) asset and a lease liability (i.e. finance obligation) at the lease commencement date.  For operating leases, the lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the unpaid lease payments at the lease commencement date. For finance leases, the lease liability is initially measured in the same manner and date as for operating leases, and is subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method.

Key estimates and judgments include how the Company determines (1) the discount rate it uses to discount the unpaid lease payments to present value, (2) the lease term and (3) the lease payments.

● ASC Topic 842 requires a lessee to discount its unpaid lease payments using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, its incremental borrowing rate. Generally, the Company cannot determine the interest rate implicit in the lease because it does not have access to the lessor’s estimated residual value or the amount of the lessor’s deferred initial direct costs. Therefore, the Company generally uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate for the lease. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate for a lease is the rate of interest it would have to pay on a collateralized basis to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments under similar terms.

● The lease term for all of the Company’s leases includes the noncancelable period of the lease, plus any additional periods covered by either a Company option to extend (or not to terminate) the lease that the Company is reasonably certain to exercise, or an option to extend (or not to terminate) the lease controlled by the lessor.

● Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability comprise fixed payments, and the exercise price of a Company option to purchase the underlying asset if the Company is reasonably certain to exercise the option.

The ROU asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease

incentives received.  For operating leases, the ROU asset is subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs, plus (minus) any prepaid (accrued) lease payments, less the unamortized balance of lease incentives received. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

For finance leases, the ROU asset is subsequently amortized using the straight-line method from the lease commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the underlying asset or the end of the lease term unless the lease transfers ownership of the underlying asset to the Company or the Company is reasonably certain to exercise an option to purchase the underlying asset. In those cases, the ROU asset is amortized over the useful life of the underlying asset. Amortization of the ROU asset is recognized and presented separately from interest expense on the lease liability.  The Company’s leases do not contain variable lease payments.  

ROU assets for operating and finance leases are periodically reviewed for impairment losses. The Company uses the long-lived assets impairment guidance in ASC Subtopic 360-10, Property, Plant, and Equipment – Overall, to determine whether an ROU asset is impaired, and if so, the amount of the impairment loss to recognize. No impairment losses have been recognized to date.  

The Company monitors for events or changes in circumstances that require a reassessment of its leases. When a reassessment results in the remeasurement of a lease liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the carrying amount of the corresponding ROU asset.

Operating and finance lease ROU assets are presented within leased property, net on the unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets. The current portion of operating and finance lease liabilities is included in finance obligations within current liabilities and the long-term portion is presented in finance obligations within noncurrent liabilities on the unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company has elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less. The Company has elected to apply the short-term lease recognition and measurement exemption for other classes of leased assets.  The Company recognizes the lease payments associated with its short-term leases as an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Revenue Recognition

The Company enters into contracts that may contain one or a combination of fuel cell systems and infrastructure, installation, maintenance, spare parts, fuel delivery and other support services. Contracts containing fuel cell systems and related infrastructure may be sold or provided to customers under a PPA, discussed further below.

The Company does not include a right of return on its products other than rights related to standard warranty provisions that permit repair or replacement of defective goods. The Company accrues for anticipated standard warranty costs at the same time that revenue is recognized for the related product, or when circumstances indicate that warranty costs will be incurred, as applicable.

Revenue is measured based on the transaction price specified in a contract with a customer, subject to the allocation of the transaction price to distinct performance obligations as discussed below. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a product or service to a customer.

The Company accounts for each distinct performance obligation within its arrangements as a separate unit of accounting if the items under the performance obligation have value to the customer on a standalone basis. The Company considers a performance obligation to be distinct and have a standalone value if the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources readily available to the customer and the Company’s promise to transfer the goods or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. The Company allocates revenue to each distinct performance obligation based on relative standalone selling prices.

Payment terms for sales of fuel cells, infrastructure and service to customers are typically 30 to 90 days. Sale/leaseback transactions with financial institutions are invoiced and collected upon transaction closing. Service is prepaid upfront in a majority of the arrangements.  The Company does not adjust the transaction price for a significant financing component when the performance obligation is expected to be fulfilled within a year.

In 2017, in separate transactions, the Company issued to each of Amazon and Walmart warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company presents the provision for common stock warrants within each revenue-related line item on the unaudited interim consolidated statements of operations. This presentation reflects a discount that those common stock warrants represent, and therefore revenue is net of these non-cash charges.  The provision of common stock warrants is allocated to the relevant revenue-related line items based upon the expected mix of the revenue for each respective contract. See Note 12, Warrant Transaction Agreements, for more details.

Nature of goods and services

The following is a description of principal activities from which the Company generates its revenue.

(i) Sales of Fuel Cell Systems and Related Infrastructure

Revenue from sales of fuel cell systems and related infrastructure represents sales of our GenDrive units, GenSure stationary backup power units, as well as hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

The Company considers comparable list prices, as well as historical average pricing approaches to determine standalone selling prices for GenDrive fuel cells. The Company uses observable evidence from similar products in the market to determine standalone selling prices for GenSure stationary backup power units and hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The determination of standalone selling prices of the Company’s performance obligations requires significant judgment, including continual assessment of pricing approaches and available observable evidence in the market.  Once relative standalone selling prices are determined, the Company proportionately allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation within the customer arrangement. The allocated transaction price related to fuel cell systems and spare parts is recognized as revenue at a point in time which usually occurs at shipment (and occasionally upon delivery). Revenue on hydrogen infrastructure installations is generally recognized at the point at which transfer of control passes to the customer, which usually occurs upon customer acceptance of the hydrogen infrastructure. In certain instances, control of hydrogen infrastructure installations transfers to the customer over time, and the related revenue is recognized over time as the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company uses an input method to determine the amount of revenue to recognize during each reporting period based on the Company’s efforts to satisfy the performance obligation.  

(ii)Services performed on fuel cell systems and related infrastructure

Revenue from services performed on fuel cell systems and related infrastructure represents revenue earned on our service and maintenance contracts and sales of spare parts. The transaction price allocated to services as discussed above is generally recognized as revenue over time on a straight-line basis over the expected service period.

In substantially all of its commercial transactions, the Company sells extended maintenance contracts that generally provide for a five to ten year service period from the date of product installation in exchange for an up-front payment. Services include monitoring, technical support, maintenance and services that provide for 97% to 98% uptime of the fleet. These services are accounted for as a separate performance obligation, and accordingly, revenue generated from these transactions, subject to the proportional allocation of transaction price, is deferred and recognized as revenue over the term of the contract, generally on a straight-line basis. Additionally, the Company may enter into annual service and extended maintenance contracts that are billed monthly. Revenue generated from these transactions is recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract. Costs are recognized as incurred over the term of the contract. Sales of spare parts are included within service revenue on the unaudited interim consolidated statements of operations. When costs are projected to exceed revenues over the life of the extended maintenance contract, an accrual for loss contracts is recorded. Costs are estimated based upon historical experience and consider the estimated impact of the Company’s cost reduction initiatives. The actual results may differ from these estimates.

Upon expiration of the extended maintenance contracts, customers either choose to extend the contract or switch to purchasing spare parts and maintaining the fuel cell systems on their own.

(iii)Power Purchase Agreements

Revenue from PPAs primarily represents payments received from customers who make monthly payments to access the Company’s GenKey solution.

When fuel cell systems and related infrastructure are provided to customers through a PPA, revenues associated with these agreements are treated as rental income and recognized on a straight-line basis over the life of the agreements.  

In conjunction with entering into a PPA with a customer, the Company may enter into sale/leaseback transactions with third-party financial institutions, whereby the fuel cells, a majority of the related infrastructure and, in some cases, service are sold to the third-party financial institution and leased back to the Company through either an operating or finance lease.

Certain of the Company’s sale/leaseback transactions with third-party financial institutions are required to be accounted for as finance leases.  As a result, no upfront revenue was recognized at the closing of these transactions and a finance obligation for each lease was established. The fuel cell systems and related infrastructure that are provided to customers through these PPAs are classified as leased property, net in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets. Costs to service the leased property, depreciation of the leased property, and other related costs are included in cost of PPA revenue in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of operations. Interest cost associated with finance leases is presented within interest and other expense, net in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The Company also has sale/leaseback transactions with financial institutions, which were required to be accounted for as operating leases. The Company has lease obligations associated with these sale/leaseback agreements with financial institutions paid over the term of the agreements.  At inception of these sale/lease transactions, the Company records a right of use asset value which is amortized over the term of the lease and recognized in conjunction with the interest expense on the obligation collectively as rental expense.  Rental expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the life of the agreements and is characterized as cost of PPA revenue on the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The Company includes all lease and non-lease components (i.e., maintenance services) related to PPAs within PPA revenue.

To recognize revenue, the Company, as lessee, is required to determine whether each sale/leaseback arrangement meets operating lease criteria. As part of the assessment of these criteria, the Company estimates certain key inputs to the associated calculations such as: 1) discount rate it uses to discount the unpaid lease payments to present value and 2) useful life of the underlying asset(s):

● ASC Topic 842 requires a lessee to discount its unpaid lease payments using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, its incremental borrowing rate. Generally, the Company cannot determine the interest rate implicit in its leases because it does not have access to the lessor’s estimated residual value or the amount of the lessor’s deferred initial direct costs. Therefore, the Company generally uses its incremental borrowing rate to estimate the discount rate for each lease.

● In order for a lease to be classified as an operating lease, the lease term cannot exceed 75% (major part) of the estimated useful life of the leased asset.  The average estimated useful life of the fuel cells is 10 years, and the average estimated useful life of the hydrogen infrastructure is 20 years.  These estimated useful lives are compared to the term of each lease to ensure that 75% of the estimated useful life of the assets is not exceeded which allows the Company to meet the operating lease criteria.

(iv)Fuel Delivered to Customers

Revenue associated with fuel delivered to customers represents the sale of hydrogen to customers that has been purchased by the Company from a third party or generated on site. Fuel is delivered to customers under stand-ready arrangement, with no long-term commitment.

The Company purchases hydrogen fuel from suppliers in certain cases (and produces hydrogen onsite) and sells to its customers upon delivery.  Revenue and cost of revenue related to this fuel is recorded as dispensed and is included in the respective “Fuel delivered to customers” lines on the  unaudited interim consolidated statements of operations.

Contract costs

The Company expects that incremental commission fees paid to employees as a result of obtaining sales contracts are recoverable and therefore the Company capitalizes them as contract costs.

Capitalized commission fees are amortized on a straight-line basis over the period of time which the transfer of goods or services to which the assets relate occur, typically ranging from 5 to 10 years. Amortization of the capitalized commission fees is included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

The Company recognizes the incremental costs of obtaining contracts as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the assets that the Company otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. These costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Cash Equivalents

For purposes of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of cash flows, the Company considers all highly-liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. At June 30, 2020, cash equivalents consisted of money market accounts. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are deposited with financial institutions located in the United States and may at times exceed insured limits.

Equity Instruments – Common Stock Warrants

Common stock warrants that meet certain applicable requirements of ASC Subtopic 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, and other related guidance, including the ability of the Company to settle the warrants without the issuance of registered shares or the absence of rights of the grantee to require cash settlement, are accounted for as equity instruments. The Company classifies these equity instruments within additional paid-in capital on the  unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Common stock warrants accounted for as equity instruments represent the warrants issued to Amazon and Walmart as discussed in Note 12, Warrant Transaction Agreements. The Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update 2019-08, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) and Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (ASU 2019-08), which requires entities to measure and classify share-based payment awards granted to a customer by applying the guidance under Topic 718, as of January 1, 2019. As a result, the amount recorded as a reduction of revenue is measured based on the grant-date fair value of the warrants. Except for the third tranche, the fair value of all warrants was measured at January 1, 2019, the adoption date of ASU 2019-08. For the third tranche, the fair value will be determined when the second tranche vests. At that time, the fair value will also be determined for that tranche.

In order to calculate warrant charges, the Company uses the Black-Scholes pricing model, which requires key inputs including volatility and risk-free interest rate and certain unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data, requiring the Company to develop its own assumptions. The Company estimates the fair value of unvested warrants, considered to be probable of vesting. Based on this estimated fair value, the Company determines warrant charges, which are recorded as a reduction of revenue in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of operations.

Use of Estimates

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications are made, whenever necessary, to prior period financial statements to conform to the current period presentation. As of June 30, 2020, there have been no such reclassifications.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, was issued. Also, In April 2019, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments, was issued to make improvements to updates 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10), 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326) and 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). ASU 2016-13 significantly changes how entities account for credit losses for financial assets and certain other instruments, including trade receivables and contract assets, that are not measured at fair value through net income. The ASU requires a number of changes to the assessment of credit losses, including the utilization of an expected credit loss model, which requires consideration of a broader range of information to estimate expected credit losses over the entire lifetime of the asset, including losses where probability is considered remote. Additionally, the standard requires the estimation of lifetime expected losses for trade receivables and contract assets that are classified as current. The Company adopted these standards effective January 1, 2020 and determined the impact of the standards to be immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.

In April 2019, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments, was issued to make improvements to updates 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10), 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326) and 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2020 and determined the impact of this standard to be immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350), was issued to simplify how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test.  Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2020.

In August 2016, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230)s: Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, was issued to reduce the existing diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted this standard in 2019 and determined the impact of this standard to be immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued and Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-06, Debt – Debt With Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, was issued to address issues identified as a result of the complexity associated with applying GAAP for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity.

This update is effective after December 15, 2021. The Company is evaluating the adoption method as well as the impact this update will have on the consolidated financial statements.

In March 2020, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, was issued to provide temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the GAAP guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens related to the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. This update is effective starting March 12, 2020 and the Company may elect to apply the amendments prospectively through December 31, 2022. The Company is evaluating the adoption method as well as the impact this update will have on the consolidated financial statements.

In March 2020, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-03, Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments, was issued to make various codification improvements to financial instruments to make the standards easier to understand and apply by eliminating inconsistencies and providing clarifications. This update will be effective at various dates as described in this ASU. The Company is evaluating the adoption method as well as the impact this update will have on the consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2019-12, Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, was issued to identify, evaluate, and improve areas of GAAP for which cost and complexity can be reduced while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. This update will be effective beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company is evaluating the adoption method as well as the impact this update will have on the consolidated financial statements.