FuelCell Energy Inc. (FCEL) said it won a $3.8 million order from the U.S. Navy to develop and test a hybrid solid-oxide fuel cell battery power system for use on unmanned undersea vehicles.

The goal of the 18-month project is to engineer and build a propulsion system that can run on stored liquid fuel for 70 days with no emissions, Danbury, Connecticut based FuelCell said in a statement today.

FuelCell may get as much as $20 million for later phases of the Navy project after construction and testing is completed, Kurt Goddard, a spokesman, said in an interview.

FuelCell rose 3.9 percent to $1.06 a share at the close in New York. The stock has increased 22 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net