AI demand detonates the green energy circuit! These 5 stocks quietly soared to a high of more than 223% during the year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that since 2026, energy stocks have been rising steadily due to the increase in oil and gas prices driven up by the Middle East War, and artificial intelligence (AI) trading has also shown good momentum. Outside of the market, some green energy companies in the field of sustainable development have quietly outperformed many popular peers.

According to the data, fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy (BE.US) has increased by more than 223% since this year, leading the performance among all peers; its competitor FuelCell Energy (FCEL.US) also achieved a three-digit increase during the year. Both companies are benefiting from AI-driven growth in electricity demand.

According to reports, Bloom Energy signed a series of major orders this year. In April, the company signed a fuel cell procurement framework agreement with ORCL.US (ORCL.US) for up to 2.8 gigawatts, and expanded the scale of cooperation with alternative asset management giant Brookfield (BAM.US), which continues to expand its AI business footprint, from $5 billion to $25 billion. The company signed a $2.65 billion electricity purchase agreement with the American Electric Power Company (AEP) for a period of 20 years to build and operate a fuel cell power generation facility in Wyoming to provide long-term power supply to the AEP. The company also announced in July that it had received a $1.7 billion project investment to provide exclusive power solutions for AI cloud computing power company Nebius (NBIS.US).

FuelCell Energy reached a 380 MW data center power supply agreement with Fit Energy USA LP during the year, and signed a capacity reservation agreement with a major data center operator for the Texas project.

Meanwhile, high-performance power module manufacturer Vicor Corporation (VICR.US) has accumulated a cumulative increase of more than 97% during the year; the company is responsible for designing and manufacturing modular power components and power systems to efficiently convert and deliver electricity to high-performance electronic devices. Renewable energy company Enlight Renewable Energy (ENLT.US), which develops and operates utility-scale solar, wind, and energy storage projects in multiple markets, rose about 58% during the year. Advanced materials company Aspen Aerogels (ASPN.US) increased by more than 81% during the year; the company is responsible for designing and manufacturing high-performance aerogel materials used in electric vehicle battery thermal insulation layers, energy-saving insulation materials, and other energy fields.

These 5 green stocks all outperformed popular clean energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by a large margin. According to the data, iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN.US) and First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN.US) have both risen about 8% since this year. These five stocks also significantly outperformed the three major US stock indices: the S&P 500 Index, the Dow Jones Index, and the Nasdaq Composite Index.

Compared with the AI industry, the shares of Bloom Energy, FuelCell Energy, Vicor Corporation, and Aspen AeroGels all outperformed the two main chip ETFs — iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX.US) and Vaneck Semiconductor Index ETF (SMH.US), and also outperformed the Global Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AIQ.US). Although Renewable Energy's stock performance outperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF, it still outperformed the Vaneck Semiconductor Index ETF and the Global Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF since 2026.

Furthermore, Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic about these 5 stocks. Specifically, Wall Street's consensus rating for Bloom Energy is “buy”, with an average target price of $280.24, which is almost the same as the stock's closing price on Thursday; the consensus rating for FuelCell Energy is “buy”, with an average target price of $20.33, which has nearly 15% room to increase compared to the stock's closing price on Thursday; and the consensus rating for Vicor Corporation is “strong buy”, with an average target price of $386.25, which has nearly 79% room to rise compared to the stock's closing price on Thursday; right; right; Renewable Energy's consensus rating is “buy,” with an average target price of $87.88, which has nearly 17% room to rise from the stock's closing price on Thursday; the consensus rating for Aspen Aerogels is “buy,” with an average target price of $7.75, which has nearly 51% room for growth compared to the stock's closing price on Thursday.