CLIFTON PARK, NY—Fuel-cell manufacturer Plug Power recently cut the ribbon on its new production facility here. The company says it is anticipating increased demand for its high-tech products, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as the byproducts. 

Plug Power's fuel cells are often used in material handling applications, such as forklifts and other devices to move products around warehouses. More than 20,000 of the company's GenDrive fuel-cell units are in service, with customers including retail giants Amazon, Walmart and Home Depot.

The company is trying to expand into the on-road electric vehicle market, and has also partnered with FedEx to create the package-delivery company’s first hydrogen-powered delivery vehicle, which now has logged more than 7,500 on-road miles.

Plug said the new factory will allow it to vertically integrate its manufacturing, or control more of the process itself, and boost green employment in New York. Plug has a total of 650 employees.

Also this week, Plug announced that its CEO, Andy Marsh, was named to the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee. The committee comprises 19 business and academic leaders and meets twice a year to provide technical and programmatic advice to the energy secretary on the DOE’s hydrogen research and development goals, strategies, and activities.