(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Ballard Power Systems Inc. rallied to a 17-year high after the company announced a $7.7 million order from China.

The Vancouver-based hydrogen fuel-cell maker jumped as much as 8.3% to its highest since December 2002 after the receiving a purchase contract from Guangdong Synergy Ballard Hydrogen Power Co., a 10%-owned joint venture located in China.

The company’s technology currently powers over 650 electric buses and more than 2,200 electric trucks in China, according to Alfred Wong, managing director at Ballard.

“This follow-on order from the Synergy-Ballard joint venture is an important indicator of the continued progress and market demand for Ballard fuel cell technology,” Wong said in a statement Thursday. “We expect to see high adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles in China.”

Ballard is the second-best performing stock on Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index this year with a 165% rally, pushing its market value to almost C$6 billion ($4.4 billion) amid burgeoning speculation that wide-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cells may at long last be around the corner.

“We believe Ballard fuel cell technology will offer a compelling value proposition, including high reliability and durability,” Wong said in the company statement.

(Updates to add value of contract in first paragraph.)

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