Top Canadian Hydrogen Stocks of 2025

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Hydrogen is an element that can be used as a fuel and renewable source of energy. In Canada, hydrogen is used for generating clean heat and electricity.

Hydrogen energy first appeared as fuel cell technology in consumer vehicles and is now expanding to infrastructure like utilities. Compared to traditional non-renewable sources of energy like fossil fuels, hydrogen technology and adoption remains at an early stage.

So is hydrogen a good investment? Let’s break it down.

What are hydrogen stocks?

Hydrogen stocks are those companies involved in the production, processing, and sale of hydrogen. Also included are companies that produce hydrogen machinery and equipment, and those that provide support services like logistics and staffing.

Hydrogen stocks fall under the umbrella of the energy sector, and in particular the renewables industry given the close relationship between hydrogen and other renewable sources of energy.

Hydrogen companies tend to be micro-to-small market capitalization firms, with high research and development expenses. Demand for hydrogen energy has not yet reached sufficient heights as to help most of these companies generate strong revenues, margins, and earnings. As a result, many hydrogen companies may be operating at a loss with negative cashflow, and their share prices may reflect this.

That being said, hydrogen technology is considered highly innovative and may be a critical portion of the energy sector in the future. The push for zero-emissions and clean energy may provide the industry with more tailwinds, especially as companies mature and improve.

Investing in Canadian hydrogen stocks

In terms of regulations, the impetus for increasing adoption of hydrogen technology comes from Canada’s emission mandates. Currently, the Federal government is committed to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30% (below 2005 levels) by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Canadians looking to buy domestic hydrogen stocks should begin their search in the energy sector of the TSX. From there, it is important to determine if the company under consideration is involved primarily in hydrogen as a pure-play or operates as a segment of an integrated energy company.

The former derives most of its revenues from hydrogen production, processing, sales, and technology, whereas the latter deals with a broad range of petroleum products, such as crude oil and natural gas. This is important to note if you only want exposure to hydrogen stocks, instead of the broader energy sector and more traditional renewable stocks.

When considering Canadian hydrogen stocks, many of the same considerations for fundamental analysis and valuation that apply to the energy sector and small-cap growth stocks should be considered:

  1. Is the company’s balance sheet healthy? What is the current ratio and long-term debt-to-equity ratio? Is there negative shareholder equity?
  2. Has the company consistently grown quarterly revenues and earnings year over year? If so, at what rate?
  3. Are the company’s gross and operating margins positive and ample?
  4. How does the company’s enterprise value-to-EBIDTA ratio compare to peers in its sector?
  5. What are the company’s price-to-book, price-to-sales, price-to-free-cash-flow, and price-to-earnings ratios, and how do these compare to peers in its sector?
  6. What does the company’s return on assets, return on equity, and return on invested capital ratios look like?
  7. Does the company have a decent cash runway and sufficient cash flow for long-term operations?
  8. Does the company have a commercially viable product with documented use cases?
  9. Does the company have negative earnings-per-share growth?
  10. If the company operates at a loss, does it have funding sources to stay in operation? If so, are those funds equity or debt based?

Top Canadian hydrogen stocks

Let’s look at some of the top hydrogen stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), listed by highest market capitalization.

CompanyDescription
Ballard Power (TSX:BLDP)Ballard Power designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services hydrogen fuel cell products.
First Hydrogen Corp (TSX:FHYD)First Hydrogen Corp. specializes in zero-emission hydrogen-powered vehicles and green hydrogen production solutions.
dynaCERT Inc. (TSX:DYA)dynaCERT Inc. develops hydrogen tech to reduce emissions and fuel use in diesel engines.

Ballard Power

Ballard Power’s main product line comprises hydrogen fuel cells, which the company calls proton exchange membrane (PEM) products. Its products are used in a variety of industrial automotive applications, such as heavy-duty bus, truck, rail, and marine applications. Ballard also provides technology solutions, including engineering and consulting services, in addition to selling licences.

Currently, Ballard operates globally, with operations in China, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Japan, France, Spain, Taiwan, Poland, India, Ukraine, and Sweden. The company also has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for developing and selling hydrogen powertrains for class 1 and 2 commercial vehicles in North America and Europe.

First Hydrogen Corp

First Hydrogen Corp. is actively pursuing a comprehensive, vertically integrated green hydrogen strategy. This strategy includes hydrogen production, refueling infrastructure, and hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. The company has designed and built two hydrogen fuel-cell-powered light commercial vehicles (FCEVs) that are road-legal in the United Kingdom, with over 6,000 km of testing completed and a range of over 630 km on a single refueling.

Financially, for the full year ended March 31, 2023, First Hydrogen reported sales of CAD 0.16006 million and a net loss of CAD 13.72 million, compared to a net loss of CAD 8.87 million the previous year.

As of January 27, 2025, the company’s stock is trading at CAD 0.36 per share and is not a stock we would recommend at this time.

dynaCERT Inc.

dynaCERT Inc. specializes in carbon emission reduction technology for diesel engines through its HydraGEN™ system, which produces hydrogen and oxygen on-demand to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

In the third quarter of 2024, the company reported total revenue of CAD 605,180, marking a 334.92% increase from the same period the previous year. However, it also reported a net loss of CAD 3.3 million for the quarter.

As of January 27, 2025, dynaCERT’s stock is trading at CAD 0.17 per share and is not a stock we currently recommend.

Are Canadian hydrogen stocks right for you?

Investing in Canadian hydrogen stocks is higher on the risk-reward spectrum compared to more “boring” sectors like consumer staples or industrials. Hydrogen stocks also tend to have higher betas, which makes them more volatile compared with the overall market. Many hydrogen stocks, especially small-cap stocks, tend to be highly speculative given their poorer fundamentals compared with blue-chip energy stocks.

Investing in hydrogen stocks is best suited for investors who have a strong thesis for the technology and are OK with prolonged periods of underperformance and volatility. The returns of these stocks can be highly unpredictable, and often come during a significant positive catalyst or breakthrough, such as the announcement of new products, clients, contracts, etc.

It is possible that hydrogen stocks represent the “next frontier” within the energy sector, much like how electric vehicle stocks boomed and overtook traditional car manufacturers in previous years. Investors looking to invest in this nascent and unproven industry must have conviction and a strong stomach for risk.

This article contains general educational content only and does not take into account your personal financial situation. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be considered, and you may need to seek independent financial advice.

To the best of our knowledge, all information in this article is accurate as of time of posting. In our educational articles, a "top stock" is always defined by the largest market cap at the time of last update. On this page, neither the author nor The Motley Fool have chosen a "top stock" by personal opinion.

As always, remember that when investing, the value of your investment may rise or fall, and your capital is at risk.