John Dansby will oversee expansion of the Torrington, Connecticut, plant to 500 megawatts of annual capacity by June 2028.

FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) appointed John Dansby as senior vice president of scale-up manufacturing. He will lead the manufacturing scale-up strategy, including expansion of the Torrington, Connecticut, plant to 500 megawatts (MW) of annual capacity by June 2028.

Dansby will also develop manufacturing systems and capabilities to support production beyond 500 MW.

Dansby most recently served as global vice president of operations for residential and light commercial at Carrier Global Corp. (NYSE: CARR). He previously held senior manufacturing roles at Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII), where FuelCell said he led a turnaround that tripled site output. At Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG), he was vice president of global manufacturing and directed manufacturing and advanced manufacturing engineering across seven global locations. He also spent more than a decade in leadership roles at General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM).

Jason Few, president and chief executive of FuelCell, said the company needs manufacturing scale, speed, quality and capital discipline to meet customer demand for reliable power that can be deployed quickly. He said Dansby’s experience would help the company establish repeatable manufacturing processes. Dansby said his focus would be building a manufacturing system that can scale with customer demand.

Torrington expansion targets higher production

FuellCell reported an annualized production rate of nearly 37.1 MW at Torrington in the quarter ended July 31. The company set a goal of reaching a 100 MW annualized production rate in October.

The expansion to 500 MW is scheduled for completion by June 2028. FuelCell raised the capacity target from 350 MW on June 8 and estimates the project will cost between $200 million to $275 million. Planned work includes tape caster installation, factory design engineering and equipment purchase.

FuelCell completed a share offering on July 9, selling 12,321,429 shares at $21 each. The offering generated approximately $245.5 million in net proceeds. The company intends to use the proceeds for capital expenditures on manufacturing expansion, working capital and general corporate purposes.

Data center agreements add potential demand

In the quarter ending July 31, FuelCell agreed to manufacture and deliver carbonate fuel cell systems with up to 380 MW of generation capacity to Fit Energy USA LP across four potential phases. The systems are intended to supply baseload power for data centers.

Fit Energy committed to buy 30 MW and can elect, at its sole option, to proceed with the remaining 350 MW. FuelCell expects to begin delivering the first phase in the quarter ending Oct. 31.

As of July 31, FuelCell reported committed backlog of $1.296 billion. It also reported $2.35 billion in awarded backlog associated with Fit Energy’s 350 MW options, which the company said does not represent contracted backlog or guaranteed revenue.

After July 31, it signed a capacity reservation agreement with a major data center operator for a planned 75 MW project in Texas. An upfront payment gives the operator priority access to manufacturing capacity while the parties finalize definitive project agreements. FuelCell did not disclose financial terms.

Revenue declines as gross loss widens

FuelCell reported third-quarter revenue of $33.0 million, compared with $46.7 million a year earlier. Gross loss widened to $24.5 million from $5.1 million.

The company said gross loss from product revenue reflects product costs and manufacturing overhead that exceed Fit Energy contract pricing. It said those costs reflect the 37.1 MW production rate, which is below the volume at which it expects costs to align with market-based pricing for orders of this scale.

Latino replaces Bishop as CFO

FuelCell named Matthew Latino executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, effective Oct. 7. Latino joined from Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), where he was segment chief financial officer of its Measurement & Control Solutions business.

Michael Bishop, CFO for 15 years, will remain as senior advisor through the 2027 annual meeting of stockholders.

FuelCell reaffirmed its target of positive adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, which ends Oct. 31, 2027. The target is subject to the planned increase in annualized production rate, conversion of awarded capacity backlog into committed backlog, customer delivery schedules, and continued execution of cost-reduction initiatives.