Linde (LIN): Who's fueling the rocket hype?

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=== SUMMARY === - The post argues that Linde (LIN) is positioned to benefit from two growth themes: rocket fuel demand (liquid hydrogen/oxygen/nitrogen for SpaceX and other launch vehicles) and hydrogen-powered AI data centers (citing a pilot and a 1 GW plant in Texas). - The author bought $1,000 in shares on May 12 and another $3,000 on June 2, plus a $500 call option, based on a decade-old teacher’s insight about niche essentials like liquid hydrogen transport. - Quality assessment: Moderately well-researched DD with some specific operational details (Brownsville plant, ECL TerraSite-TX1), but the rocket/AI catalysts are speculative and not yet material to LIN’s revenue. The author's personal narrative adds conviction but not rigorous financial analysis. === SENTIMENT === BULLISH === TRADE IDEAS === TICKER - LIN | DIRECTION: LONG | confidence: 0.80 | sentiment: +0.80 Speaker: u/Any_Pudding1541 Thesis: 1. THE FACT: Linde has the world’s largest liquid gas capacity and distribution system, and has opened an air separation plant in Texas to supply SpaceX’s Starbase with liquid oxygen and nitrogen. 2. THE BRIDGE: Upcoming SpaceX IPO and growing interest in rocket/space stocks could direct retail and institutional attention to Linde as a pure-play supplier of rocket fuel components. Separately, the first hydrogen-powered AI data center (planned 1 GW off-grid plant in Texas) could create a new demand vector for liquid hydrogen, which Linde is uniquely positioned to transport. 3. THE VERDICT: Linde is a high-quality industrial gas company with a strong moat in cryogenic logistics. The rocket/AI narratives are optional catalysts, but the core business is resilient, making this a "helmet" investment with upside if the themes play out. 4. RISKS: The rocket and hydrogen data center segments are tiny relative to Linde’s total revenue (~$33B); hype may not translate to earnings. Stock is near all-time highs, so valuation risk exists. SpaceX IPO timing is uncertain, and hydro

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*I hate that this needs to be said these days but I used no AI (0%) in the writing of this document. All ideas mentioned are purely speculation and my own opinion. This is not financial advice. If you think AI was used, it says a lot about your own capabilities to write.* 

[Linde plc](https://preview.redd.it/xjp7kknczj4h1.png?width=2560&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=6ca32ad6dc3c52442ee03f435dc70e9a8888d444)

# What's fueling the rocket hype?

I haven't noticed anyone mention how rockets get their fuel. So I looked it up. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are commonly used in the fuel, while liquid nitrogen is used in ground operations. Very few companies are able to transport liquid gases due to the need for extremely cold transportation (-300°F to -420°F). Linde is a company that specializes in general industrial gases. They have the world's largest liquid gas capacity (over 500 industrial gas plants) and distribution system. 

Linde sells liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen to SpaceX, enough to have opened a large air separation plant in Brownsville, Texas, to serve SpaceX's Starbase. This is probably be the leading reason for Linde to succeed on the rocket hype, however, SpaceX doesn't directly use liquid hydrogen in their rockets (they use kerosine and liquid oxygen), but other rockets do in fact use it. Nasa’s upcoming SLS rocket will use approximately 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen to launch. And this is only one of the several active rockets that use liquid hydrogen. China, Japan, and Europe all have rockets that use liquid hydrogen. From what I can tell, there are 8 ‘rocket families’ that use liquid hydrogen. 

[Air separation plant in Texas](https://preview.redd.it/m33zj2giew4h1.png?width=440&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=5874b4ba4c59224a5371dd5d63333db3def6e746)

# Fueling the future of AI

Parallel to the rocket hype is the AI data center phenomenon. Well, a [data center in California](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/mountain-view-hydrogen-based-data-center/) was the first one in the world to create a hydrogen based data center. They use liquid hydrogen as a form of electricity, which in turn generates pure distilled water that is fed back as a coolant. They claim 24/7 stationary power using this method. They have been operating “flawlessly” for over a year as a test project, and they are already building a plant [1000 times bigger](https://fuelcellsworks.com/2024/09/26/clean-technology/ecl-announces-world-s-first-1-gigawatt-off-grid-hydrogen-powered-ai-factory-data-center) in Texas, called the ECL TerraSite-TX1. They claim it is more efficient than traditional energy and is 100% off grid. If this becomes a popular method of powering data centers, it could be a massive benefit to Linde.

# Where to go from here?

I would like to share a true personal story here. Back in high school (15 years ago) I had a teacher tell me to abstractly think about niche essentials in the stock market. As a specific example, he said companies that can transport liquid hydrogen, as it is difficult to do and there aren't that many companies that do it. For some reason, this stuck with me all these years, i don't know why. Well fast forward to last month, I saw a semi hauling what looked like liquid hydrogen and on the side of the truck read the words: "Linde". For some reason my high school teachers words popped in my head, and I went home, looked them up and decided they look like a strong company and I purchased $1000 of them. I will include a position that shows my date purchased for proof. This is to say, I purchased them BEFORE realizing anything I have said here.

Now that general rocket/space hype is coming out alongside the SpaceX IPO, as well as the potential liquid hydrogen future of AI data centers - I'm buying a lot more Linde. Linde’s stock currently sits at a $230 billion market cap, roughly their all time high, although two years ago in March and October of 2024 they hit a level similar to current price action. I think this points at the company being a strong company, with the potential to break out if they are recognized alongside upcoming market events. 

It may not be the ‘pickaxe in the gold rush’, but with such a strong foundation I would call it your helmet to take into the mines. Your helmet will keep you safe. (Even if rockets fail, or AI fails, Linde is strong enough to resist market drops. They specialize in general industrial gases, which isn’t going anywhere)

[May 12th \($1000\)](https://preview.redd.it/zc48eenwbw4h1.png?width=2660&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=cc7562055c56cc2e3e5f9d7284dff09d56a686ac)

[Jun 2 \($3000\)](https://preview.redd.it/saa3qw0zbw4h1.png?width=2678&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=9101ec34c5e5837a9884fa29b14d095194436a01)

[1 $500 call \($700\)](https://preview.redd.it/e3ft7605cw4h1.png?width=2678&amp;format=png&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=7e0c799f12b9ff00b92be4faacb9af3198d96601)

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