Plug Power Customer ARYZTA Highlights Substantial Productivity Increases Through Use of GenDrive Hydrogen Fuel Cells

LATHAM, N.Y., April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (NASDAQ: PLUG), the leading company building the clean hydrogen economy, has helped international food business, ARYZTA, streamline its logistics with hydrogen fuel cells since 2016. The implementation of fuel cell technology has driven a tremendous increase in fleet productivity for the leader in the frozen B2B bakery industry.

Plug Power’s fuel cells increased  ARYZTA’s average picks-per-hour by 100% in 2018, trending to a 133% increase in 2020. With this in mind, the company has set ambitious goals for future productivity projections to reach a 188% increase in picks per hour over the 2016 baseline. ARYZTA presents the ideal use-case for capitalizing on productivity improvements as a result of Plug Power’s innovative GenDrive hydrogen fuel cell technology.

“Our robust freezer application was draining our batteries and impacting our productivity,” said Joseph Holy, Director, Logistics at ARYZTA. “The use of the fuel cells in our Romeoville, IL distribution center has been transformative, and has made the site an example for others.”

Battery-powered lift trucks lose approximately 14% of their speed over the last half of the battery charge - and this only becomes exaggerated in freezer applications like those operated by ARYZTA. GenDrive fuel cells maintain constant power at all times, keeping the vehicle running at full speed throughout the entire shift.

Fueling a GenDrive fuel cell only takes minutes at dedicated, conveniently located fueling stations at the customer facility. Battery changing requires 15 minutes per shift compared to two minutes for hydrogen refueling. Over a year, that 13 minutes per shift saved represents over 234 hours of lost productivity per forklift truck in a three-shift operation.

“Plug Power’s fuel cell technology has been proven by the 30,000 units deployed today,” said Andy Marsh, CEO for Plug Power. “But the productivity shown by ARYZTA is an impressive case study for the zero-emission solution. These productivity improvements equate to improvements to the bottom line - something that is important to each and every customer.”

With over 300 million hours of runtime in the field, greater than 32,000 units deployed, and more than 20 years of innovation, Plug Power is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen and has built more hydrogen refueling stations than anyone else in the world, representing an unparalleled breadth of knowledge and industry know-how. The experience, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and insights provided to long standing blue chip clientele speak to Plug Power’s reliable integrity and ability to ideate and innovate their offerings faster than competitors, while remaining future-proof in the face of an ever-evolving electrified world.

About Plug Power Inc.

Plug Power is building the hydrogen economy as the leading provider of comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) turnkey solutions. The company’s innovative technology powers electric motors with hydrogen fuel cells amid an ongoing paradigm shift in the power, energy, and transportation industries to address climate change and energy security, while providing efficiency gains and meeting sustainability goals.

Plug Power created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) technology. As a result, the company has deployed over 30,000 fuel cell systems for e-mobility, more than anyone else in the world, and has become the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen, having built and operated a hydrogen highway across North America. Plug Power delivers a significant value proposition to end-customers, including meaningful environmental benefits, efficiency gains, fast fueling, and lower operational costs.

Plug Power’s vertically-integrated GenKey solution ties together all critical elements to power, fuel, and provide service to customers such as Amazon, BMW, The Southern Company, Carrefour, and Walmart. The company is now leveraging its know-how, modular product architecture and foundational customers to rapidly expand into other key markets including zero-emission on-road vehicles, robotics, and data centers.

Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties about Plug Power Inc.("PLUG"), including but not limited to statements about PLUG's expectations regarding growth in Europe, revenue, growth with GenKey customers and its project financing platform. You are cautioned that such statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times that, or by which, such performance or results will have been achieved. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk that we continue to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability; the risk that we will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and such capital may not be available to us; the risk that our lack of extensive experience in manufacturing and marketing products may impact our ability to manufacture and market products on a profitable and large-scale commercial basis; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or converted to revenue, in whole or in part; the risk that pending orders may not convert to purchase orders, in whole or in part; the risk that a loss of one or more of our major customers could result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition; the risk that a sale of a significant number of shares of stock could depress the market price of our common stock; the risk that negative publicity related to our business or stock could result in a negative impact on our stock value and profitability; the risk of potential losses related to any product liability claims or contract disputes; the risk of loss related to an inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls or key personnel; the risks related to use of flammable fuels in our products; the cost and timing of developing, marketing and selling our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such costs; the ability to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our products; the risk that our actual net cash used for operating expenses may exceed the projected net cash for operating expenses; the cost and availability of fuel and fueling infrastructures for our products; market acceptance of our products, including GenDrive, GenSure and GenKey systems; the volatility of our stock price; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of components and parts for our products; our ability to develop commercially viable products; our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our ability to successfully expand our product lines; our ability to successfully expand internationally; our ability to improve system reliability for our GenDrive, GenSure and GenKey systems; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future federal, state and international governmental regulations; risks associated with potential future acquisitions; and other risks and uncertainties referenced in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by PLUG, see disclosures contained in PLUG's public filings with the SEC including, the "Risk Factors" section of PLUG's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included in this presentation and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and PLUG undertakes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.

SOURCE: PLUG POWER

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