Plug Power's list of customers has grown to more recently include Wal-Mart Canada, German automaker BMW, and food distributor Sysco. Those corporate giants have begun snapping up Plug Power's fuel cell-powered forklifts — ranging in cost from $12,000 to $28,000 — because they see big business savings despite the cost of the new equipment.

"One of the problems with the (fuel cell) industry for many years was that people didn't recognize that the money aspect is more important than the green aspect," Marsh told InnovationNewsDaily. "Customers want to make the right decision for the environment, but they also want to make the right decision financially."

Getting fuel cell technology to the point where it makes stronger business sense has taken about a decade, Marsh explained. Plug Power itself started in 1997, but when Marsh took over, he streamlined the business to focus on the forklifts and cut Plug Power's operating costs from $58 million per year to $16 million. The company's growing business sales since then have allowed it to project shipping enough forklifts next year to become profitable.

As more warehouses install the hydrogen-refueling stations to support fuel cell-powered forklifts, Plug Power expects new business opportunities. Marsh expects his company to target fuel cell-powered refrigerated trailers for industrial food distributors such as Sysco, as well as off-road vehicle fleets used by FedEx or UPS that can piggyback on the warehouse fueling stations.

"The key is that you don't wait for somebody to build out hydrogen infrastructure everywhere — think about how you can build it yourself," Marsh said. "Build a hydrogen fueling station that can operate like a gas station today."