Spiking fuel prices are benefiting renewable power companies, particularly EV stocks, which have fallen this year.
Nikola, which aims to replace diesel-fueled semis with trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen, was one of the biggest stock market gainers Tuesday among electric vehicle makers after President Joe Biden said the U.S. was cutting off imports of Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Beyond mobility companies, investors appear to be shifting broadly to renewable power stocks amid spiking oil prices, said Jeffrey Osborne, an equity analyst for Cowen. Hydrogen, particularly for trucking, may benefit from that volatility. Any bet on Nikola at this point is a longer-term investment as the company won’t yet begin commercial production of hydrogen-fuel Tre FCEV trucks until 2023. In February it beganin Los Angeles with two prototype vehicles that the company says can go more than 500 miles between fuelings. Aside from the cost of high-powered fuel cell systems and storage tanks, the supply of hydrogen made from low- or no-carbon sources, such as water and renewable power, remains in short supply.