As commodity prices skyrocket higher following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, attention in the markets is turning toward sustainability plays. The ideas are entwined.
For example, one of the main hurdles to the development and maturation of the solar energy industry is the cost-effectiveness of using solar energy. This has become less important as the industry has scaled up over recent years. But it’s hardly irrelevant now, and will continue to be an issue over coming years.
This is true even as the cost per kilowatt hour has become cheaper for alternative energies like wind, solar and other renewables than for hydrocarbon-based energies like oil and natural gas.
Why?
Because transitioning to something like solar power also implies an upfront fixed-cost installation and conversion investment that has to be figured in over any given 5-year budget plan. With that extra factor, solar and wind energy have remained more expensive than just keeping the fossil fuels flowing during recent years with oil pricing at an average of $60/bbl.
But that all changes with Oil trading well above $100/bbl. The math changes, and we can expect the decisions by major energy consumers to change as well.
This is not just an argument for solar. The same dynamic is happening across the economy. Lumber, wheat, copper, and other commodities have blasted off with Oil over recent weeks. And in every such case, the argument for environmentally sustainable technologies is bolstered. It suddenly makes much more sense to shift to a sustainability paradigm and break the addiction to scarce commodities.
Given that backdrop, we take a look below at a handful of the most interesting stocks in the green technology space right now.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDP) bills itself as a company that engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of fuel cell products for a variety of applications.
BLDP focuses on power product markets of heavy duty motive, portable power, material handling, and backup power, as well as the delivery of technology solutions.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDP) recently announced with ABB (SIX Swiss Ex: ABBN) – a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future – that they have received a groundbreaking approval in principle (“AiP”) from leading classification society DNV for a jointly developed fuel cell concept capable of generating 3 megawatts, or 4,000 HP, of electrical power. DNV is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway.
“ABB’s industry-leading experience in marine solutions and Ballard’s expertise in development and deployment of megawatt-scale fuel cell systems for land-based use has proven to be the right combination, enabling us to take the next step in our joint efforts to make this technology available for larger vessels,” said Jesper Themsen, President and CEO of Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S. “Securing an AiP offers a signpost to the maritime industry regarding the potential of this truly transformative concept.”
Traders will note 5% piled on for shareholders of the stock during the trailing month, a bounce that has taken root amid largely bearish action over the larger time frame. The situation may be worth watching. BLDP has a track record that includes a number of dramatic bounces. In addition, the listing has registered increased average transaction volume recently, with the past month seeing 25% above the average volume levels in play in this stock over the longer term.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDP) has a significant war chest ($1.6B) of cash on the books, which is balanced by about $80.1M in total current liabilities. One should also note that debt has been growing over recent quarters. BLDP is pulling in trailing 12-month revenues of $122M. However, the company is seeing declines on the top-line on a quarterly y/y basis, with revenues falling at -6.9%.
Eco Innovation Group (OTC US:ECOX) is a smaller name in the space, but the company appears to be ratcheting up commercial operations over recent months and could be on the verge of a number of key catalysts.
The company’s model is driven by nurturing the work of top inventors in the US and Canada, helping to bring their best green-tech ideas to life and then signing exclusive licensing deals to commercialize the results. But the company has also entered the green construction space and has started to put together lucrative deals to renovate existing facilities for 21st century life.
Eco Innovation Group (OTC US:ECOX) most recently that its green construction subsidiary, ECOX Spruce Construction, has been contracted to provide all services to renovate a retail location of a major U.S. merchandiser in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
ECOX is particularly interesting because it has a portfolio of new ideas with commercial application, but it also has a diversified model that balances long-duration high-impact technology with more immediate revenue-generating operations, such as its green construction segment, which is now starting to drive topline growth to help fund its more ambitious higher-margin projects, like its PoolCooled technology.
PoolCooled is a climate control solution that leverages proprietary technology to cool a home or building by taking cool water from an existing swimming pool and looping it through the existing air conditioning system to boost efficiency on a per-unit power consumption basis. It has enormous application potential, including the residential construction market as well as hotels, motels, and public facilities. The company appears to be readying PoolCooled for market this year.
In the meantime, its ECOX Spruce Construction segment continues to pick up contracts, with a major California military base already signed on and now a major Fortune 500 retailer project underway. ECOX reportedly began work for this client on February 21st, and management has said that it believes its green construction segment may be in a position to renovate additional retail locations for this merchandiser, which boasts over 1,000 stores in North America, according to the company’s official communications.
Eco Innovation Group (OTC US:ECOX) has set a goal of achieving $6 million in revenues from just its ECOX Spruce Construction projects in 2022.
NIO Inc. ADR (NYSE:NIO) is a holding company that engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of electric vehicles. Its products include the EP9 supercar and ES8 7-seater SUV.
The company provides users with home charging, power express valet services, and other power solutions including access to public charging, access to power mobile charging trucks, and battery swapping. It also offers other value-added services such as service package, battery payment arrangement, and vehicle financing and license plate registration.
NIO Inc. ADR (NYSE:NIO) recently announced its February 2022 delivery results.
According to its release, NIO delivered 6,131 vehicles in February 2022, representing an increase of 9.9% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 1,084 ES8s, the Company’s six- or seven-seater flagship premium smart electric SUV, 3,309 ES6s, the Company’s five-seater high-performance premium smart electric SUV, and 1,738 EC6s, the Company’s five-seater premium smart electric coupe SUV. As of February 28, 2022, cumulative deliveries of the ES8, ES6 and EC6 reached 182,853 vehicles.
Even in light of this news, NIO has had a rough past week of trading action, with shares sinking something like -21% in that time. That said, chart support is nearby, and we may be in the process of constructing a nice setup for some movement back the other way.
NIO Inc. ADR (NYSE:NIO) managed to rope in revenues totaling $1.5B in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data – a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 131.7%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels exceeding current liabilities ($7.3B against $4.1B).
Other key players in the sustainable technology space include Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE), First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR), Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA), and Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ).
