Plug Power (PLUG 20.87%) stock took off Monday morning. Shares of the hydrogen fuel cell supplier peaked with an almost 15% gain in early trading. The stock remained higher by 11.9% as of 1:30 p.m. ET.

Plug develops and commercializes hydrogen fuel cell systems. Large companies including Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot utilize Plug’s systems to power forklifts and other material handling equipment in distribution centers and warehouses.

A big announcement today has investors thinking Plug’s future business could be related to an even faster-growing segment.

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Plug Power can help fill growing power needs

Plug operates a green hydrogen production facility in Georgia that began liquid hydrogen shipments last year. That hydrogen fuel could soon be used for more than forklifts as the need to power data centers explodes.

An announcement today highlighted that growing need. Tech giant Nvidia announced plans to invest as much as $100 billion in ChatGPT developer OpenAI as part of a major data center buildout.

Plug Power stock has already been rising in recent weeks due to increasing power needs as well as the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates last week. The strategic partnership between Nvidia and OpenAI will enable OpenAI to build and deploy a minimum of 10 gigawatts (GW) of data centers used for artificial intelligence (AI) growth. That would be enough power to supply electricity to over 8 million homes.

Plug Power has seen strong demand for its GenDrive fuel cells, with total revenue increasing 21% in the most recent quarter. As more companies look to supply power for data centers, Plug Power could see sharply increasing demand.

Plug has reported big losses in the first half of 2025, though. Operating losses of over $350 million were an improvement over last year, but investors should still consider it a high-risk investment. If customers do line up for its fuel cells, however, there could be more upside to Plug Power stock.