Nature of Operations

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Nature of Operations

Nature of Operations

1. Nature of Operations

Description of Business

As a leading provider of comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions, Plug Power Inc., or the Company, is seeking to build a green hydrogen economy.  The Company is focused on hydrogen and fuel cell systems that are used to power electric motors primarily in the electric mobility and stationary power markets, given the ongoing paradigm shift in the power, energy, and transportation industries to address climate change, energy security, and meet sustainability goals.  Plug Power created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell, or the HFC technology. As a result, the Company has deployed over 34,000 fuel cell systems, and has become the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen, having built and operated a hydrogen network across North America.

We are focused on proton exchange membrane, or PEM, fuel cell and fuel processing technologies, fuel cell/battery hybrid technologies, and associated hydrogen storage and dispensing infrastructure from which multiple products are available. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and heat without combustion. Hydrogen is derived from multiple sources. The majority of liquid hydrogen in the United States is produced using the steam methane reforming process and utilizing by-product hydrogen from chlor alkali production. By-product hydrogen from a chlor alkali plant is considered to be low carbon hydrogen and in some cases, considered green hydrogen, depending on the source of electricity and geographic location. We source a significant amount of liquid hydrogen based on the chlor alkali process today. Additionally, we manufacture and sell fuel cell products to replace batteries and diesel generators in stationary backup power applications. These products have proven valuable with telecommunications, transportation and utility customers as robust, reliable and sustainable power solutions.

We provide and continue to develop commercially-viable hydrogen and fuel cell solutions for industrial mobility applications (including electric forklifts and electric industrial vehicles) at multi-shift high volume manufacturing and high throughput distribution sites where we believe our products and services provide a unique combination of productivity, flexibility and environmental benefits. In June of 2020, Plug Power completed the acquisitions of United Hydrogen Group Inc. and Giner ELX, Inc. in line with the Company’s hydrogen vertical integration strategy, with plans to have more than 50% of the hydrogen used  by the Company to be green by 2024. These acquisitions further enhance Plug Power’s position in the hydrogen industry with capabilities in generation, liquefaction and distribution of hydrogen fuel complementing its industry-leading position in the design, construction, and operation of customer-facing hydrogen fueling stations. These acquisitions establish a pathway for Plug Power to transition from low-carbon to zero-carbon hydrogen solutions.

Our current products and services include:

GenDrive: GenDrive is our hydrogen fueled PEM fuel cell system providing power to material handling electric vehicles, including class 1, 2, 3 and 6 electric forklifts and ground support equipment;

GenFuel:  GenFuel is our hydrogen fueling delivery, generation, storage and dispensing system;

GenCare: GenCare is our ongoing ‘internet of things’-based maintenance and on-site service program for GenDrive fuel cell systems, GenSure fuel cell systems, GenFuel hydrogen storage and dispensing products and ProGen fuel cell engines;

GenSure:  GenSure is our stationary fuel cell solution providing scalable, modular PEM fuel cell power to support the backup and grid-support power requirements of the telecommunications, transportation, and utility sectors;

GenKey: GenKey is our vertically integrated “turn-key” solution combining either GenDrive or GenSure fuel cell power with GenFuel fuel and GenCare aftermarket service, offering complete simplicity to customers transitioning to fuel cell power; and

ProGen:  ProGen is our fuel cell stack and engine technology currently used globally in mobility and stationary fuel cell systems, and as engines in electric delivery vans. This includes the Plug Power MEA (membrane electrode assembly), a critical component of the fuel cell stack used in zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicle engines,  in which Plug Power is the largest producer in North America.

We provide our products worldwide through our direct product sales force, and by leveraging relationships with original equipment manufacturers and their dealer networks. We manufacture our commercially-viable products in Latham, NY, Rochester, NY and Spokane, WA and support liquid hydrogen generation  and logistics in Charleston, TN.

Liquidity

Our cash requirements relate primarily to working capital needed to operate and grow our business, including funding operating expenses, growth in inventory to support both shipments of new units and servicing the installed base, growth in equipment leased to customers under long-term arrangements, funding the growth in our GenKey “turn-key” solution, which includes the installation of our customers’ hydrogen infrastructure as well as production and delivery of the hydrogen fuel, continued development and expansion of our products, payment of lease/financing obligations under sale/leaseback financings, and the repayment or refinancing of our long-term debt. Our ability to achieve profitability and meet future liquidity needs and capital requirements will depend upon numerous factors, including the timing and quantity of product orders and shipments; attaining and expanding positive gross margins across all product lines; the timing and amount of our operating expenses; the timing and costs of working capital needs; the timing and costs of developing marketing and distribution channels; the ability of our customers to obtain financing to support commercial transactions; our ability to obtain financing arrangements to support the sale or leasing of our products and services to customers and to repay or refinance our long-term debt, and the terms of such agreements that may require us to pledge or restrict substantial amounts of our cash to support these financing arrangements; the timing and costs of developing marketing and distribution channels; the timing and costs of product service requirements; the timing and costs of hiring and training product staff; the timing and costs of product development and introductions; the extent of our ongoing and new research and development programs; and changes in our strategy or our planned activities. If we are unable to fund our operations with positive cash flows and cannot obtain external financing, we may not be able to sustain future operations.  As a result, we may be required to delay, reduce and/or cease our operations and/or seek bankruptcy protection.

We have experienced and continue to experience negative cash flows from operations and net losses. The Company incurred net losses attributable to common stockholders of $46.2 million and $49.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and had an accumulated deficit of $1.4 billion at June 30, 2020.

We have historically funded our operations primarily through public and private offerings of equity and debt, as well as short-term borrowings, long-term debt and project financings. The Company believes that its current working capital and cash anticipated to be generated from future operations, as well as borrowings from lending and project financing sources and proceeds from equity and debt offerings, including our at-the-market offering, will provide sufficient liquidity to fund operations for at least one year after the date the financial statements are issued. There is no guarantee that future funding will be available if and when required or at terms acceptable to the Company.  This projection is based on our current expectations regarding new project financing and product sales and service, cost structure, cash burn rate and other operating assumptions.

During the six months ended June 30, 2020, net cash used in operating activities was $111.2 million, consisting primarily of a net loss attributable to the Company of $46.1 million, and net outflows from fluctuations in working capital and other assets and liabilities of $61.1 million. The changes in working capital primarily were related to increases in various current asset and liability accounts. As of June 30, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $152.5 million and net working capital of $186.3 million. By comparison, at December 31, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $139.5 million and net working capital of $162.5 million. 

Net cash used in investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2020 totaled $56.6 million and included net cash paid for acquisitions, purchases of property, plant and equipment, and outflows associated with materials, labor, and overhead necessary to construct new leased property. Cash outflows related to equipment that we lease directly to customers are included in net cash used in investing activities.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2020 totaled $181.6 million and primarily resulted from the issuance of convertible senior notes, and proceeds from borrowing on long-term debt, offset by the repurchase of convertible senior notes and related capped calls.

Public and Private Offerings of Equity and Debt

Common Stock Issuances

On April 13, 2020, the Company entered into an At Market Issuance Sales Agreement (ATM), with B. Riley FBR, Inc., as sales agent, or FBR, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time through FBR, shares of Company common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $75.0 million. As of the date of this filing, the Company did not issue any shares of common stock pursuant to the ATM.

In the second quarter of 2019, the Company issued 2.1 million shares of common stock pursuant to an ATM entered into with FBR, as sales agent, on April 3, 2017, resulting in net proceeds of $5.5 million. There were no sales under the ATM in the first quarter of 2019.

In March 2019, the Company issued and sold in a registered direct offering an aggregate of 10 million shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $2.35 per share for net proceeds of approximately $23.5 million.

In December 2019, the Company issued and sold in a registered public offering an aggregate of 46 million shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $2.75 per share for net proceeds of approximately $120.4 million.

Convertible Senior Notes

In May 2020, the Company issued $212.8 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.75% convertible senior notes due  2025, which we refer to herein as the 3.75% Convertible Senior Notes. The total net proceeds from this offering, after deducting costs of the issuance, were $205.1 million. The Company used $90.2 million of the net proceeds from the offering of the 3.75% Convertible Senior Notes to repurchase $66.3 million of the $100 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2023, which we refer to herein as the 5.5% Convertible Senior Notes. In addition, the Company used approximately $15.3 million of the net proceeds from the offering of the 3.75% Convertible Senior Notes to enter into privately negotiated capped called transactions. 

In September 2019, the Company issued a $40.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.5% convertible senior note due 2023, which we refer to herein as the 7.5% Convertible Senior Note. The Company’s total obligation, net of interest accretion, due to the holder was $48.0 million. The total net proceeds from this offering, after deducting costs of the issuance, were $39.1 million. As of June 30, 2020, the outstanding balance of the note, net of related discount and issuance costs, was $41.0 million. On July 1, 2020, the note automatically converted fully into 16.0 million shares of common stock.

Operating and Finance Leases

The Company enters into sale/leaseback agreements with various financial institutions to facilitate the Company’s commercial transactions with key customers. The Company sells certain fuel cell systems and hydrogen infrastructure to the financial institutions and leases the equipment back to support certain customer locations and to fulfill its varied Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).  Transactions completed under the sale/leaseback arrangements are generally accounted for as operating leases and therefore the sales of the fuel cell systems and hydrogen infrastructure are recognized as revenue.  In connection with certain sale/leaseback transactions, the financial institutions require the Company to maintain cash balances in restricted accounts securing the Company’s finance obligations. Cash received from customers under the PPAs

is used to make payments against the Company’s finance obligations. As the Company performs under these agreements, the required restricted cash balances are released, according to a set schedule. The total remaining lease payments to financial institutions under these agreements at June 30, 2020 was $293.7 million, $233.8 million of which were secured with restricted cash, security deposits backing letters of credit, and pledged service escrows.

The Company has varied master lease agreements with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc., or Wells Fargo, to finance the Company’s commercial transactions with various customers. The Wells Fargo lease agreements were entered into during 2017, 2018, and 2019. No sale/leaseback transactions were entered with Wells Fargo during the six months ended June 30, 2020.  Pursuant to the lease agreements, the Company sells fuel cell systems and hydrogen infrastructure to Wells Fargo and then leases them back and operates them at Walmart sites.  The Company has a customer guarantee for a large portion of the transactions entered into in connection with such lease agreements. The Wells Fargo lease agreements required letters of credit for the unguaranteed portion totaling $50.6 million as of June 30, 2020. The total remaining lease liabilities owed to Wells Fargo were $103.2 million at June 30, 2020.

Over recent years, including in 2019, the Company has entered into master lease agreements with multiple institutions such as Key Equipment Finance (KeyBank), SunTrust Equipment Finance & Lease Corp. (now known as Truist Bank), and First American Bancorp, Inc. (First American). In the first half of 2020, the Company entered into  additional lease agreements with KeyBank, First American and Truist Bank. Similar to the Wells Fargo lease agreements, the primary purpose of these agreements is to finance commercial transactions with varied customers. Most of the transactions with these financial institutions required cash collateral for the unguaranteed portions totaling $172.3 million as of June 30, 2020. Similar to the Wells Fargo lease agreements, in many cases the Company has a customer guarantee for a large portion of the transactions. The total remaining lease liabilities owed to these financial institutions were $190.5 million at June 30, 2020.

Long-Term Debt

In March 2019, the Company entered into a loan and security agreement (Loan Agreement) with Generate Lending, LLC (Generate Capital) pursuant to which the Company borrowed $85.0 million (Term Loan Facility). The initial proceeds of the loan were used to pay in full the Company’s long-term debt and accrued interest of $17.6 million under the loan agreement with NY Green Bank, a Division of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, and terminate approximately $50.3 million of certain equipment leases with Generate Plug Power SLB II, LLC as well as repurchase the associated leased equipment. In April 2019 and November 2019, the Company borrowed an additional $15.0 million and $20.0 million, respectively, under the Term Loan Facility with Generate Capital at 12% interest to fund working capital for ongoing deployments and other general corporate purposes. On March 31, 2020, the outstanding balance was $107.5 million. The principal and interest payments are paid primarily by restricted cash.

On May 6, 2020, the Company and Generate amended the Loan Agreement to, among other things, (i) provide an incremental term loan facility in the amount of $50.0 million, which has been fully funded, (ii) provide for additional, incremental term loans in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50.0 million, which are available to the Company in Generate Capital’s sole discretion, (iii) reduce the interest rate on all loans to 9.50% from 12.00% per annum, and (iv) extend the maturity date to October 31, 2025 from October 6, 2022. Based on the amortization schedule as June 30, 2020, the outstanding balance of $141.2 million under the Term Loan Facility will be fully paid by March 31, 2024.

On July 10, 2020 the Company borrowed an additional $25.0 million under the amended Loan Agreement. See Note 8, Long-Term Debt, for additional information.