Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement for Non-Employee Directors
Exhibit 10.16
RESTRICTED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT
FOR NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS
UNDER THE PLUG POWER INC.
2021 STOCK OPTION AND INCENTIVE PLAN
Name of Grantee: | | |
No. of Shares: | | |
Grant Date: | | |
Pursuant to the Plug Power Inc. 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, as amended through the date hereof (the “Plan”), Plug Power Inc. (the “Company”) hereby grants a Restricted Stock Award (an “Award”) to the Grantee named above, who is a Non-Employee Director of the Company but is not an employee of the Company. Upon acceptance of this Award, the Grantee shall receive the number of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Stock”), of the Company specified above, subject to the restrictions and conditions set forth herein and in the Plan. The Company acknowledges the receipt from the Grantee of consideration with respect to the par value of the Stock in the form of cash, past or future services rendered to the Company by the Grantee or such other form of consideration as is acceptable to the Administrator.
1.Award. The shares of Restricted Stock awarded hereunder shall be issued and held by the Company’s transfer agent in book entry form, and the Grantee’s name shall be entered as the stockholder of record on the books of the Company. Thereupon, the Grantee shall have all the rights of a stockholder with respect to such shares, including voting and dividend rights, subject, however, to the restrictions and conditions specified in Paragraph 2 below. The Grantee shall (i) sign and deliver to the Company a copy of this Award Agreement and (ii) deliver to the Company a stock power endorsed in blank.
2.Restrictions and Conditions.
(a)Any book entries for the shares of Restricted Stock granted herein shall bear an appropriate legend, as determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion, to the effect that such shares are subject to restrictions as set forth herein and in the Plan.
(b)Shares of Restricted Stock granted herein may not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered or disposed of by the Grantee prior to vesting.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph 3 below, if the Grantee’s Service Relationship is voluntarily or involuntarily terminated for any reason prior to vesting of shares of Restricted Stock granted herein, all shares of Restricted Stock shall immediately and automatically be forfeited and returned to the Company.
3.Vesting of Restricted Stock. The restrictions and conditions in Paragraph 2 of this Agreement shall lapse on the Vesting Date or Dates specified in the following schedule so long as the Grantee remains in a Service Relationship (as defined in the Plan) through the applicable Vesting Date. If a series of Vesting Dates is specified, then the restrictions and conditions in Paragraph 2 shall lapse only with respect to the number of shares of Restricted Stock specified as vested on the applicable date.
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Subsequent to such Vesting Date or Dates, the shares of Stock on which all restrictions and conditions have lapsed shall no longer be deemed Restricted Stock. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or in the Plan, all outstanding shares of Restricted Stock shall become fully vested (i) upon the termination of the Grantee’s Service Relationship by reason of the Grantee’s death or disability (as determined by the Administrator) or (ii) subject to the Grantee’s continued Service Relationship through the consummation of a Sale Event (as defined in the Plan), immediately prior to the consummation of such Sale Event. The Administrator may at any time accelerate the vesting schedule specified in this Paragraph 3.
4.Incorporation of Plan. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Award shall be subject to and governed by all the terms and conditions of the Plan, including the powers of the Administrator set forth in Section 2(b) of the Plan. Capitalized terms in this Agreement shall have the meaning specified in the Plan, unless a different meaning is specified herein.
5.Transferability. This Agreement is personal to the Grantee, is non-assignable and is not transferable in any manner, by operation of law or otherwise, other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a domestic relations order.
6.Tax Withholding. The Grantee shall, not later than the date as of which amounts with respect to this Award become includable in the gross income of the Grantee for income tax purposes, pay to the Company or its Affiliates, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Administrator for payment of any U.S. federal, state or local and non-U.S. or other taxes of any kind required by law to be withheld by the Company or its Affiliates with respect to the Award. The Administrator may require that the Company’s or Affiliate’s tax withholding obligation to be satisfied, in whole or in part, by (i) the Company withholding from shares of Stock to be issued or released by the transfer agent a number of shares of Stock with an aggregate Fair Market Value (as of the date the withholding is effected) that would satisfy the withholding amount due; provided, however, that the amount withheld does not exceed the maximum statutory tax rate or such lesser amount as is necessary to avoid liability accounting treatment or (ii) an arrangement whereby a certain number of shares of Stock are immediately sold and proceeds from such sale are remitted to the Company or an Affiliate in an amount that would satisfy the withholding amount due.
7.Election Under Section 83(b). The Grantee and the Company hereby agree that the Grantee may, within 30 days following the Grant Date of this Award, file with the Internal Revenue Service and the Company an election under Section 83(b) of the Code. In the event the Grantee makes such an election, he or she agrees to provide a copy of the election to the Company. The Grantee acknowledges that he or she is responsible for obtaining the advice of his or her tax advisors with regard to the Section 83(b) election and that he or she is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company or any of its agents with regard to such election.
8.No Obligation to Continue Service Relationship. Neither the Company nor any Affiliate is obligated by or as a result of the Plan or this Agreement to continue the Grantee’s Service Relationship and neither the Plan nor this Agreement shall interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any Affiliate to terminate the Grantee’s Service Relationship at any time.
9.Integration. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to this Award and supersedes all prior agreements and discussions between the parties concerning such subject matter.
10.Data Privacy Consent. In order to administer the Plan and this Agreement and to implement or structure future equity grants, the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates and certain agents thereof (together, the “Relevant Companies”) may process any and all personal or professional data, including but not limited to Social Security or other identification number, home address and telephone number, date of birth and other information that is necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan and/or this Agreement (the “Relevant Information”). By entering into this Agreement, the Grantee (i) authorizes the Company to collect, process, register and transfer to the Relevant Companies all Relevant Information; (ii) waives any privacy rights the Grantee may have with respect to the Relevant Information; (iii) authorizes the Relevant Companies to store and transmit such information in electronic form; and (iv) authorizes the transfer of the Relevant Information to any jurisdiction in which the Relevant Companies consider appropriate. The Grantee shall have access to, and the right to change, the Relevant Information. Relevant Information will only be used in accordance with applicable law.
11.Notices. Notices hereunder shall be mailed or delivered to the Company at its principal place of business and shall be mailed or delivered to the Grantee at the address on file with the Company or, in either case, at such other address as one party may subsequently furnish to the other party in writing.
12.Clawback. The Grantee acknowledges and agrees that this Award is subject in all respects to the Company’s Compensation Recovery Policy, as may be amended or restated from time to time (the “Clawback Policy”), to the extent applicable, including the Company’s ability to recoup Erroneously Awarded Compensation (as defined in the Clawback Policy) thereunder. Any action by the Company to recover Erroneously Awarded Compensation under the Clawback Policy from the Grantee shall not be deemed (i) an event giving rise to a right to resign for Good Reason, if applicable, or serve as a basis for a claim of constructive termination under any
benefits or compensation arrangement applicable to the Grantee or (ii) to constitute a breach of a contract or other arrangement to which the Grantee is a party. This Paragraph 12 is a material term of this Agreement.
PLUG POWER INC. | ||
By: | ||
Title: |
The foregoing Agreement is hereby accepted and the terms and conditions thereof hereby agreed to by the undersigned. Electronic acceptance of this Agreement pursuant to the Company’s instructions to the Grantee (including through an online acceptance process) is acceptable.
Dated: | |||
Grantee’s Signature | |||
Grantee’s name and address: | |||