According to a recent market analysis report from Technavio, the EV battery market could reach $38 billion, with growth from 2021 to 2026 running at an accelerating CAGR of 14.87%.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise to engaged market participants given the backdrop of rising fossil fuel prices and an increasingly aggressive energy transition movement working to stave off climate change over coming decades.
The related growth theme is inevitable and one of the prime movers in the market over the next ten years. We are going to transition from fossil fuels, and the EV marketplace is the main beneficiary. But it can’t work without certain ingredients.
The paradigm in the energy market is shifting, which stands to help a number of stocks in the battery space, including Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB), Indo Global Exchange (OTC US:IGEX), Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA), FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), XPeng Inc. ADR (NYSE:XPEV), BYD Co. Ltd. ADR (OTC US:BYDDY), and Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEArca:LIT).
We take a closer look at some of the more interesting names in the space below.
Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB) engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.
The Lithium segment develops and manufactures basic lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and value-added lithium specialties and reagents. The Bromine segment consists of bromine and bromine-based businesses including products used in fire safety solutions and other specialty chemicals applications. The Catalysts segment contains two product lines: clean fuel technologies, which are primarily composed of hydro processing catalysts, and heavy oil upgrading that is composed of fluidized catalytic cracking catalysts and additives. The All Other segment includes the FCS business.
Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB) recently announced that it has endorsed the United Nations (UN) Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, a global initiative in partnership with the Pacific Institute, that mobilizes business leaders to advance water stewardship practices.
“Efficient and responsible water use is a key component of our sustainability strategy,” said Albemarle CEO Kent Masters. “Albemarle is committed to responsible management of our water resources and our sustainable business practices align directly with our endorsement of the CEO Water Mandate. Through this platform, we aim to proactively identify and manage business risks, create efficiency in our water use, realize cost savings through water use efficiency, and honor our sustainability commitments.”
While this is a clear factor, it has been incorporated into a trading tape characterized by a pretty dominant offer, which hasn’t been the type of action ALB shareholders really want to see. In total, over the past five days, shares of the stock have dropped by roughly -8% on above average trading volume. All in all, not a particularly friendly tape, but one that may ultimately present some new opportunities. Over the past month, shares of the stock have suffered from clear selling pressure, dropping by roughly -15%.
Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB) managed to rope in revenues totaling $894.2M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 1.7%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company is battling some balance sheet hurdles, with cash levels struggling to keep up with current liabilities ($439.3M against $1.9B, respectively).
Indo Global Exchange (OTC US:IGEX) is a company in transition, becoming The Mineral Company Ltd. The name “Indo Global Exchange” appears to be a legacy element in this story.
“IGEX” appears to now be a lithium, energy storage, and graphene stock. According to its most recent release, the company has filed two SEC Form 8-K filings after acquiring two very important and strategic assets, which are critical to the success of the anticipated fusion/merger between Igex, a European publicly traded company and well established leader in the lithium and energy storage, and a Spanish company involved primarily in the graphene manufacturing industry.
Indo Global Exchange (OTC US:IGEX) is one of the parties involved in this strategic fusion/merger, and the assets acquisition, which are essential to the successful development of the premier center for manufacturing, storage, and shipping of minerals with emphasis in lithium, graphene, and its derivatives in Southern Europe.
According to company materials, engineers and architects are already retained to work on all necessary plans and permits with the goal to break ground in less than 6 months aiming at having the first phase of the project completed and operational by year-end 2022. The lot(s) are located in an already approved “urban” zone, thus not requiring rezoning applications. The construction of the center is permitted under the current zoning.
The first 8-K was filed on February 2, 2022, to report the acquisition of a a 50,000 sqm (or 538,196 SQ FT) lot located in Jumilla, Spain for a total of 300,000.00 plus approximately an 11% RE tax assessment. The property is worth approximately 980,000 as reported independently by Arquitasa (Sociedad de Tasacin), which has been homologated by Banco de Espaa. The transaction was financed by the Seller, in a 7-year term loan at 2% per annum, guaranteed by one of Igex Preferred Shareholder. The Source of repayment will from revenues generated.
IGEX shares have been red hot over recent weeks, powering as much as 400% higher as volume kicks up. Something is happening here, and we would suggest interested investors keep a close eye on the name given its positioning as an emerging player in the lithium and battery storage space.
Indo Global Exchange (OTC US:IGEX) filed a second SEC 8-K Form to report the acquisition of water rights over the above referenced lots, underground water reservoir, and existing extraction station, including 2 industrial water pumps for a total of 100,000.00. The transaction was financed by the seller at a 2% interest per annum for a period of 84 months. This transaction was also made possible by one of our preferred shareholders, who is personally guarantying the financing. This acquisition was a strategic and necessary one as water is paramount to lithium and other minerals extraction and production.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL) engages in the development, design, production, construction and servicing of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation. It develops turn-key distributed power generation solutions and provides comprehensive services for the life of the power plant. The firm’s fuel cell solution is an alternative to traditional combustion-based power generation and is complementary to an energy mix consisting of intermittent sources of energy, such as solar and wind turbines.
The company provides solutions for various applications, including utility-scale distributed generation, on-site power generation, combined heat and power, distributed hydrogen, carbon capture and hydrogen-based long duration storage. The company’s platform has the differentiating ability to do all these applications utilizing multiple sources of fuel including natural gas, renewable biogas, and propane among others sources.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL) recently announced the appointment by the Board of Directors of Mark Feasel to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Mark’s appointment will be effective as of April 18, 2022. This role was previously held by the Company’s President and CEO, Jason Few.
“When we thought about the ideal leader for the position of Chief Commercial Officer, we had very specific goals in mind – to find a well-established and proven energy professional who is passionate about a future powered by clean energy, who can help take the Company to the next level of growth, and conduct business with the highest integrity,” said Jason Few. “While that seemed like a very tall order to fill, we found it with Mark Feasel. I am so pleased to welcome him to the team and look forward to the next chapter in our corporate history.”
Over the past week, shares of the stock have dropped by roughly -12% on above average trading volume. Over the past month, shares of the stock have suffered from clear selling pressure, dropping by roughly -32%. But this has come in a context defined by panic in the growth stock space, which could ultimately represent a powerful longer term opportunity for investors interested in the energy storage theme.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL) managed to rope in revenues totaling $31.8M in overall sales during the company’s most recently reported quarterly financial data — a figure that represents a rate of top line growth of 113.7%, as compared to year-ago data in comparable terms. In addition, the company has a strong balance sheet, with cash levels exceeding current liabilities ($389.6M against $75.3M).
