Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) were the beneficiary of news Wednesday that the fuel cell maker received an order from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) for its hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cells will power electric lift truck fleets at six of the retailer’s North America distribution centers.

What investors and the public need to take away from this is not the news of a fuel cell order. It is that this gets fuel cells that much further on the map!

Walmart ordered a total of 1,738 the company’s GenDrive fuel cell units. They will be deployed over two years, along with construction of the needed infrastructure, the hydrogen fuel supply and six-year service contracts for each site. Walmart already uses the products at three other distribution centers.

Plug Power shares were up nearly 13% to $4.46 on the news. The shares have come a long way; they were trading as low as $0.12 a year ago. The following also moved higher.

Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP) was up 11% to $3.23, versus a 52-week range of $0.69 to $3.37. This was also the day that the new 52-week high was hit, and Ballard has a market cap of $326 million. Keep in mind that this gain was on top of news of its own.

FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) rose by 5% to $1.77 on the news. Its 52-week range is $0.84 to $1.95 and the stock hit a high of $1.82 on Wednesday. FuelCell has a $363 million market cap.

Hydrogenics Corp. (NASDAQ: HYGS) is also getting a boost from the news, but perhaps less than its peers. The company develops and sells electrolyzers for hydrogen generation, often integrated with hydrogen storage and PEM fuel cells, as well as hydrogen fueling stations. Its shares were up 3.6% at $25.55, against a 52-week range of $7.51 to $25.91.

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