Hoku Scientific stock jumps 45 percent

Hoku Scientific Inc.'s stock has soared 45 percent since the startup company announced yesterday that the Navy has accepted two of 10 demonstration proton exchange membrane fuel-cell power plants that will incorporate the product, Hoku MEA.

The Kapolei-based developer of fuel-cell parts said Hoku MEA will be used at Pearl Harbor Naval Station.

Hoku said each of the stationary fuel-cell power plants, designed by IdaTech LLC and incorporating Hoku MEA, generates net electrical output of about 1.5 kilowatts. The other eight demonstration systems, plus one fuel cell power plant that will not be demonstrated, are scheduled for factory acceptance over the next several weeks.

The company said it expects to phase in all 10 systems at Pearl Harbor this summer after demonstration sites are selected and prepared.

Hoku's shares, which hit an all-time closing low of $3.75 Wednesday on the Nasdaq, rose $1.42 to $5.17 after yesterday's announcement, and today gained another 28 cents to close at $5.45. The company went public in August at $6 a share and hit its all-time high of $12.80 in September.