Bloom Energy (BE) began trading on the NYSE on Wed 25 July 2018

The Silicon Valley company makes fuel-cell energy systems for large corporate campuses and other installations. The company, which emerged with much fanfare and a "60 Minutes" segment in 2010, had an accumulated deficit of more than $2 billion, debt approaching $1 billion and cash on hand of less than $100 million as it approached the IPO.

New IPO Bloom Energy (BE) jumped in its first day of trading Wednesday, after pricing its initial public offering of 18 million shares of Class A common stock at 15 per share.

The Bloom Energy IPO pricing came in at the high end of the expected 13-15 range and gives the company a valuation of $1.6 billion.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company says it uses proprietary solid oxide fuel-cell technology to "convert fuel into electricity through an electrochemical process without combustion at the highest efficiency of any power solution available in the world today."

Shares leapt 66.7% to close at 25.00 on the stock market today. Among other fuel-cell stocks, FuelCell Energy (FCEL) rose 1.5%, Plug Power (PLUG) rallied 2.6%, and Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) added 0.3%.

A curiosity surrounding Bloom is a 2014 settlement with now-shuttered Advanced Equities. The Chicago-based investment firm raised money for the clean-energy company and was in 2012 charged by the SEC with "misleading investors in private equity offerings."

But as the Wall Street Journal noted Tuesday, Advanced Equities co-founders Dwight Badger and Keith Daubenspeck will receive 200,000 shares of Bloom Energy after the IPO. They threatened legal action against Bloom in 2013, pointing fingers at the company for allegedly misleading them and prompting the SEC sanctions, according to the outlet, citing people familiar with the matter.

News outlet Axios said in June that a source close to Bloom has "no idea" why the clean-energy firm would offer Badger and Daubenspeck further compensation.

Bloom reportedly says the pair's claims lack merit.