£86.5m in State Aid Can’t Stop ITM Power from Joining the Hydrogen Sell-Off
Published on 07/16/2026 at 22:23 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The British government has handed ITM Power a financial lifeline worth nearly £87 million over the past few weeks, yet the market is unimpressed. Shares in the Sheffield-based electrolyser specialist tumbled 8.36% on Thursday to €1.23, extending a brutal run that has wiped more than half the stock’s value from its May peak. The disconnect between Whitehall’s enthusiasm and the Börse’s dread is not unique to ITM Power — it has become the defining theme for the entire hydrogen sector this summer.
The injection comes in two tranches. On 9 July the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) finalised a £46.5 million grant for the “Chronos” project, a next-generation electrolyser stack that ITM Power plans to produce at industrial scale in Sheffield. That followed a £40 million strategic equity injection from Great British Energy in April, bringing total state support to roughly £86.5 million. The money is earmarked for automated manufacturing of the Chronos stack, targeting an annual capacity of one gigawatt. Management touts higher power density and lower production costs, but the immediate share-price reaction suggests investors are looking past the headlines and focusing on execution risk.
The analyst community is split. Berenberg remains bullish with a 200-pence price target (roughly €2.38), citing the partnership with Rheinmetall on the “Giga PtX” project as a door opener to new markets. Goldman Sachs, by contrast, is said to retain a “sell” rating, pointing to the hydrogen industry’s structural challenges and the long road to profitability. The current price action vindicates the bears: at €1.23 the stock sits 52.37% below its 52-week high of €2.58 reached in late May, and the relative strength index of 37 signals oversold territory — yet the downtrend persists, with a 13.82% decline over the past 30 days alone.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying ITM Power?
ITM Power’s struggles are playing out against a sector-wide rout that has claimed far bigger names. Bloom Energy and FuelCell Energy have been hammered by short-seller attacks and dilution fears, while Ceres Power slid after a capital raise that ignored existing holders. Ballard Power is down by a third in a month as it prepares to digest its GeoPura acquisition. The overarching concern: even as artificial intelligence drives demand for clean power and governments open their wallets, the market is punishing any hint of equity dilution or delayed commercialisation. ITM Power’s state backing has not insulated it from that sentiment — particularly as rival Plug Power recently secured a final investment decision for a 50-megawatt electrolyser project in Australia, a milestone the British company cannot yet match.
Operationally, the numbers are heading in the right direction. At the half-year stage ITM Power posted record revenue of £18 million, a sharply reduced gross loss, and an order backlog that swelled to £152 million. The shift to percentage-of-completion accounting has also lent more visibility to full-year revenue, which management forecasts in a range of £40 million to £43 million for the fiscal year that ended in April. But the market wants signed contracts and binding investment decisions, not just government grants and improving metrics. The Cromarty hydrogen project in the Scottish Highlands — a 15-megawatt partnership with Protium — faces a final investment decision in December, and that verdict will be closely watched.
The next big test comes in August, when ITM Power publishes its final results for the 2026 fiscal year. The report will need to show that operating losses are narrowing and that the fresh state capital can be deployed efficiently. Until then, the stock looks caught between a supportive government and a sceptical market — a tension that may not resolve until a major commercial deal shifts the narrative.
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ITM Power Stock: New Analysis - 16 July
Fresh ITM Power information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
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