That sole flagbearer for hydrogen technology is the aptly-named Global X Hydrogen ETF (ASX: HGEN). This ETF pretty much does what it says on the tin. It offers ASX investors exposure, through the tracking of the Solactive Global Hydrogen ESG Index, to some of the leading companies in the production, development and commercialisation of hydrogen and fuel cell technology.

Hydrogen remains an area of interest for investors looking to harness the next generation of energy infrastructure. It has potential applications that range from fuel-cell batteries to the production of green steel and ammonia, and even potentially nuclear fusion.

HGEN's portfolio is truly international. US stocks make up just under 38% of the portfolio, with South Korea contributing another 19%. Other countries that are present include Taiwan, Britain, Belgium, and Japan.

This hydrogen ETF counts the likes of Bloom Energy, Kaori Heat, Doosan Fuel Cell, Plug Power, Screen Holdings, Ceres Power, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction as top holdings.

But let's talk performance.

How has this ASX hydrogen ETF delivered 155% in 12 months?

As you may have gleaned from the headline, this ASX hydrogen ETF has exploded in value over the past 12 months. HGEN units alone were going for just $4.82 each this time last year. At the time of writing, those same units are worth $12.31. That's a rise worth more than 155%.

Year to date in 2026, the Global X Hydrogen ETF has gained an equally impressive 74.6%.

It seems that top holding Bloom Energy is mostly to thank for this incredible performance. This US-listed fuel cell manufacturer has exploded about 1,430% higher over the past 12 months, and by 233% in 2026 to date.

HGEN's performance has been a little more muted if we zoom out, however. As of 17 June, this ETF has delivered an average of 201.2% per annum over the past three years. Since its inception in 2021, we are looking at a return of just 4.3% per annum.

Even so, no doubt many HGEN investors won't mind, given the stonking returns of the past 12 months (and respectable ones from the past three years).

Let's see what happens with HGEN over the rest of 2026 and beyond.

The Global X Hydrogen ETF charges a management fee of 0.69% per annum.

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Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) wants to build a greener future. The e-commerce colossus is turning to Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) to help make green hydrogen a major component of its clean energy strategy. 

Beginning in 2025, Plug Power will supply Amazon with 10,950 tons of green hydrogen annually to help power its long-haul trucking fleet and fulfillment center equipment. The two companies say the agreement will deliver enough power to operate 800 heavy-duty trucks and 30,000 forklifts.

"Amazon is proud to be an early adopter of green hydrogen given its potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like long-haul trucking, steel manufacturing, aviation, and ocean shipping," Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said in a press release.

Music to Plug Power's investors' ears

Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said the deal validates the energy solutions provider's ambitious growth strategy.

"Plug is fully committed to a green hydrogen future, and we are building a complete hydrogen ecosystem -- from molecule to applications combined with a resilient network of green hydrogen plants around the world -- to make hydrogen adoption easy for companies looking to reach net-zero carbon emissions," Marsh said. "Securing this major green hydrogen supply deal with a customer like Amazon affirms our multi-year investment and strategic expansion into green hydrogen."

Marsh also suggested that the two companies could expand their partnership to include other hydrogen applications, such as fuel-cell electric trucks and power generation stations.

As it stands, Plug Power said its new deal with Amazon will help it grow its revenue to $3 billion by 2025 -- up from nearly $600 million over the past 12 months. It will also support Plug Power's goal of producing 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen per day in North America by that time. 

Notably, Amazon received a warrant to purchase up to 16 million shares of Plug Power's stock. Amazon has the right to buy 9 million of those shares at an exercise price of $22.9841 per share, which is based on the stock's average closing price over the 30 trading days ending on Aug. 23.

The exercise price of the remaining shares will be determined based on future trading prices, should Amazon's warrant vest in full. To do so, Amazon will need to spend $2.1 billion over a seven-year period on Plug Power's offerings.

These warrants give Amazon a financial incentive to help Plug Power reach its ambitious expansion goals. Amazon's stake will likely also be seen by other potential customers as a vote of confidence for Plug Power's technology.

A big boost to the fledgling hydrogen economy

Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. It also co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040. More than 300 other companies have since made the same pledge, including corporate heavyweights like Microsoft and Verizon. 

"We are relentless in our pursuit to meet our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040 and believe that scaling the supply and demand for green hydrogen, such as through this agreement with Plug Power, will play a key role in helping us achieve our goals," Hurst said. 

Amazon's support for green hydrogen will likely spur more companies to invest in the promising fuel source. That could lead to the build-out of hydrogen-related infrastructure, which, in turn, should make the fuel more economically viable for even more businesses.

These investments might also allow green hydrogen to become a more powerful tool in the battle against climate change. The carbon-free fuel source can be produced with renewable electricity and water -- a far cleaner and more environmentally friendly process than is used to produce traditional fossil fuels.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Amazon's latest green hydrogen partnership is a big deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) is cranking on August 10, 2022, up 2.4% at 12:53 p.m. Today's big gains come as earnings season continues and following the release of the latest inflation data from the U.S. Department of Labor this morning. According to the data, the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, rose 8.5% in July. For context, that's still near the highest levels of the past four decades, but it's trending very much in the right direction after June's 9.1% set a 41-year high.

Today, investors are betting that slowing inflation is a good signal that a sharp recession is less likely. Energy and food prices are moderating, and many companies are still reporting upbeat quarterly results and expectations. Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) and Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) are at the leading edge of that consumer risk, and their highly volatile stocks are up big today on the optimistic reading of the inflation data.

Today's noteworthy postearnings gainers include The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), with shares up more than 36% at one point. Investors are also betting on better prospects for renewable and low-carbon energy companies. Shoals Technologies (NASDAQ: SHLS) and Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) are two of those up big today.

When near-record inflation is a "good" thing

While the CPI is still very high, today's interpretation of the data was generally positive. We have seen energy and food prices begin to come down, and some areas of the global supply chain crisis are improving, too. Semiconductor companies, in particular, are reporting that the cycle in that industry is turning from too much demand to too much supply in certain product categories. While that's not a positive for shareholders in the short term, it's positive for the broader economy that the supply shortfall that's kept many products off the shelves and prices very high might be starting to ease.

Investors see this as very positive for Upstart, the AI-driven consumer lending platform, and for buy now, pay later specialist Affirm Holdings, with their shares up 16% and 13%, respectively, at this writing. Both companies live at the leading edge of consumer credit risk. By and large, the bulk of their lending products are unsecured consumer debt (though Upstart is diversifying into auto lending), which is the first kind of credit to see increased rates of default in weak economic periods. However, today's gains could prove temporary, as both saw their stocks fall sharply earlier this week on earnings and economic speculation.

The Trade Desk's second quarter was, by almost every measure, exceedingly strong. It reported 35% revenue growth, continued to retain more than 95% of its customers, and more than doubled its operating cash flows. If there's one not-great number, it's stock-based compensation, which almost tripled year over year and was the primary factor in The Trade Desk reporting a GAAP loss.

What happens next? Plenty of volatility as investors try to telegraph what happens in the near term. Investors in both companies should be prepared for that and acknowledge that their risks will be amplified if consumers continue to get squeezed. The companies' long-term prospects, however, are tied to their ability to keep disrupting the traditional credit card and consumer lending industries.

The Trade Desk shakes off earnings woes for adtech

The Trade Desk's results were a breath of fresh air for the adtech industry. In recent weeks, many of the companies that are deeply involved in the growing digital ad industry have reported somewhat mixed results. The mature giants like Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) have reported strong ad volume but falling ad rates, as marketers have cut ad spending.

Investors seem happy to trade a portion of equity to co-founder and CEO Jeff Green, however, as part of his compensation. Shares are up a massive 36% at this writing.

Cleantech stocks cleaning up today -- can they keep it up?

The stocks of a number of clean energy companies are up big today. Shares of Shoals Technologies, which makes electrical wiring for utility-scale solar plants, are up 14% today, joining hydrogen companies Plug Power and Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE). The latter's shares are up more than 15% after Bloom reported expectations-beating earnings and said it expects to be cash flow positive for the full year.

Plug Power reported on August 9. Unlike Bloom, its results came up short of expectations. However, analysts continued to have bullish outlooks, raising their price targets on the company, partly due to the expected tailwinds of the recently passed landmark federal climate legislation.

Looking beyond near-term price targets and potential tailwinds from the new climate law, investors should focus on the financials. Plug Power has a very long record of cash burn (it has never had a positive-cash-flow year in its multidecade history), while Shoals and Bloom have demonstrated positive cash flows in the past and are trending in positive directions.

Optimistic thinking is nice, but as investors, we mustn't forget that long-term wealth comes from a healthy -- growing -- bottom line.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Nasdaq surges after inflation data: Why the top tech and growth stocks moved higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Hazer is developing a low-emissions HAZER Process that can effectively convert natural gas and similar feedstocks into hydrogen and high-quality graphite for both vehicle fuel and energy applications.

Hydrogen ETF hits fresh all-time high overnight

Global X launched its Hydrogen Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on 14 July when it closed at US$23.93 a piece.

The ETF slumped 16% to all-time lows of US$20.04 by 6 October, coinciding with the broader market selloff driven by factors such as the US debt ceiling, China's Evergrande crisis, and concerns about rising interest rates.

The Hydrogen ETF has since surged almost 25% from October lows and 5.67% last night, closing at a fresh all-time high of US$24.97 last night.

The surging Hydrogen ETF could be a factor influencing the bullish performance of the Hazer share price on Tuesday.

About the Hydrogen ETF

The Hydrogen ETF invests in companies that "stand to benefit from the advancement of the global hydrogen industry".

This includes companies engaged in hydrogen production, integration of hydrogen into energy systems, development of hydrogen fuel cells, and other related technologies.

Its top 3 holdings, which make up about 35% of its net assets, include:

• Hydrogen fuel cells developer Plug Power
• Developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell products Ballard Power Systems
• Solid oxide fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy

Interestingly, Bloom Energy shares surged 37.2% overnight after the company signed a deal with South Korean industrial company SK Group.

Unfortunately, there are no ASX-listed hydrogen players within the ETF.

Hazer share price snapshot

The Hazer share price is up 75% year-to-date, with most of its gains taking place between January and early February.

After trading sideways for most of the year, the Hazer share price is climbing in October.

The post The Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price jumps 8% as hydrogen ETF hits all-time high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But today, it's time to check back in on this new ETF. It has certainly gained some distance from its first day of trading.

Just as a recap, the ETFS Hydrogen ETF invests in a portfolio of global companies (around 30) that centre on the emerging 'hydrogen economy'. These companies mostly hail from the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea (amongst others).

Some of its largest holdings include Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG), Ballard Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BLDP), and ITM Power plc (LON: ITM). These come from the Solactive Global Hydrogen ESG Index that HGEN tracks. 

So, how exactly has this exciting new ETF performed since its 7 October ASX float?

ASX hydrogen ETF powers higher

Well, this ETF's first pricing quotes on the ASX started at around $10.09 per unit back on 7 October. Today, ETFS Hydrogen ETF units are currently (at the time of writing) being priced at $11.28. That's an increase of 11.8% over what has been little more than a fortnight. Not bad, one could say.

But that's not where the story ends. This ETFS Hydrogen ETF had quite a dramatic week last week too. On Thursday morning, the ETF spiked from the previous day's close of $10.94 a unit to a new high of $$12.25 at market open. That unit price is more than 21% above the initial October pricing.

Although HGEN units are now almost 8% below that high watermark at today's pricing, it's still worthwhile pointing out that investors enjoyed a near-18% bump in just 2 days.

The ETFS Hyfdrogen ETF charges a management fee of 0.69% per annum.

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Shares in the small cap hydrogen technology company surged to a high of $1.88, demolishing its previous record high in the process. The Hazer share price has since retreated to $1.74 at the time of writing, up 11.9%.

The company aims to commercialise its 'Hazer process' in order to produce hydrogen more efficiently. The Hazer process is a low emission hydrogen and graphite process. It enables the effective conversion of natural gas and methane using iron ore as a catalyst.

What's driving the Hazer share price?

In today's release, the company reported a positive second quarter performance, saying its key focus remains the execution of its commercial development project (CDP). A successful execution of the CDP will demonstrate the benefits of Hazer's technology to potential clients.

Hazer said it has made significant progress during the quarter, despite challenging conditions due to COVID-19. It has obtained the various permits required for its operations. As a result, site preparation is set to begin in the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year.

Regarding the company's cash flow, Hazer reported cash reserves of $28.8 million at the end of the quarter. The company generated $8.7 million, with more than $10 million additional money coming in from various grants. This includes the Australian renewable energy agency grant, totalling $9.4 million.

About the Hazer share price

The Hazer share price has seen a phenomenal rise in the last 12 months, lifting from 42 cents to its current price of $1.85. This represents a 270% increase.

As mentioned in its report:

This growth is coming as the global hydrogen market continues to gather pace. The market has a favourable macro environment with national roadmaps and strategies now translating into investment targets, funding programs and regulatory changes.

Hazer is seeing a significant increase in interest in its technology from international companies across a wide range of applications driven by a desire by end-users to de-carbonise operations.

Around the globe other hydrogen technology companies have also been performing well, with the likes of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) gaining 1,655% in the last year.

The post Why the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price is smashing its record high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

My Fool colleague, James Mickleboro, already looked at the most popular ASX shares today.

CommSec is one of the largest online brokers in the country. Thus, this data can be an insightful indicator of general investing trends in the Aussie market.

So here are the top 10 United States shares CommSec customers were buying last week. This week's data covers 11-15 January. 

Most traded US shares on the ASX

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 7.3% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 4.8% of total trades with an 81%/19% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.3% of total trades with a 75%/25% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV) – representing 1.6% of total trades with a 93%/7% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) – representing 1% of total trades with a 57%/43% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB)
7. ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK)
8. ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (BATS: ARKG)
9. Zomedica Corp (NYSE: ZOM)
10. Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG)

What can we learn from these trades?

As always, some interesting results here. Right off the bat, the dominance of electric car and battery manufacturers in Tesla and Nio once again continues to clean up investor interest here on the ASX.

We can probably put this continuing trend down to a combination of excitement over these companies' futuristic plans, and the sheer fact that both are up more than 1,000% over the past 10 months.

Traditional tech stocks like Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook also make a small resurgence. These companies have been put on the backburner somewhat in recent months as newer growth stories excite ASX investors.

Churchill Capital makes an interesting debut though.

Churchill is what's known as a SPAC (special purpose acquisition vehicle). This is a unique US corporate structure where a company is formed with the sole purpose of merging with an unlisted company in the future. SPACs have been growing in popularity over the last 12 months or so as an exciting alternative tot eh traditional IPO.

According to Bloomberg, Churchill has reportedly been enchanting investors over rumours that it is set to merge with an unlisted electric vehicle manufacturer called Lucid Motors. Lucid is apparently backed by the Audi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.

We discussed the emergence of ARK Invest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on this list last week, so it's interesting to see ARKK and ARKG carry over this week.

Finally, Plug Power and Zomedica also appear for the first time. Plug is a hydrogen fuel cell company that is up more than 100% year to date. Meanwhile, Zomedica is a pharma company that is up more than 200% year to date.

Our Foolish colleagues over in the US recently (and salaciously) discussed how Zomedica may have been in a promotional scheme with Tiger King's Carole Baskin. No comment there.

The post Here are the US shares ASX investors are buying appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel told Forbes this month that many shares are way overvalued and it would take years for those companies to grow into their valuations.

"But I keep thinking the other side of it is that one should think of COVID and the crisis of this year as this giant watershed moment, where this is the first year of the 21st century," he said.

"This is the year in which the new economy is actually replacing the old economy."

And Sydney portfolio manager Michael Frazis couldn't agree more.

"For all the trials and tragedies of 2020, this was a year when all kinds of technology accelerated," he said in a memo to Frazis Capital clients.

"This was a year where those taking extraordinary risks to advance the human race were richly rewarded, and for that we can all be thankful."

Be on the right side of history

He acknowledged investing in new trends and technological shifts is "often uncomfortable", but investors want to be on the right side of history.

"Balance sheets and income statements are messy, and the extraordinarily talented people that build new businesses are often odd," he said.

"But it's far riskier, in our opinion, to be on the other side of these shifts. Simply look at the performance of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Carvana Co (NYSE: CVNA) versus the auto industry; Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) versus global banks; and Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP), Mercadolibre Inc (NASDAQ: MELI) and Sea Ltd (NYSE: SE) versus traditional retailers."

Sectors for the new century

Frazis pointed to the extraordinary science behind the development of COVID-19 vaccines as proof that the world has now ticked over to a new era.

"Biology has always had data at its core, but in 2020 this data science reached new heights," he said.

"Chinese scientists posted the genetic code of the coronavirus online, and within days Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) developed the first of what will likely be many mRNA vaccines without any access to the virus itself. Truly science fiction stuff."

Biological research received a lot of government and investment funding this year, according to Frazis.

"It has never been cooler to be a biological scientist. Talent and capital is a thrilling combination. The next decade should be a good one for the life sciences."

Non-government space exploration also made tremendous progress in 2020, said Frazis, making private travel out of earth a possibility this century.

"It was also a good year for space, with Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) (which we own) and SpaceX (which sadly we can't) both laying down serious milestones in what will be one of the future's largest industries."

He also picked the hydrogen fuel industry as a winner in the coming years.

"In 2020 the use of hydrogen in transportation reached critical levels, much to the benefit of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG), whose fuel cells now transport [about] 30% of US retail food and groceries."

Frazis Capital has returned more than 92% net for the year to date, according to the portfolio manager.

Frazis told his clients last month that he was calling the peak of "red hot tech stocks" and would be selling them down.

"Longer term yields have begun to rise, tech valuations are at record highs, and we believe a period of serious multiple compression has already begun."

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