Battery stocks are about to enter a golden era, and this chart shows exactly why.
You see, this chart, which tracks the development of utility-grade power storage capacity across the world for the rest of the decade, is like an EKG of a rapidly emerging industry.
Because for the humanity-wide campaign to electrify (aka decarbonize) our economies to have any chance of success, it’s precisely this seldom discussed corner of the rechargeable battery market that needs to do the heavy lifting.
For every kilowatt hour of production that we add from renewable sources like wind and solar, a kilowatt hour of storage capacity will need to be added as well.
In the next 6 years, the collective capacity of the world’s industrial-grade power storage systems is set to grow by a factor of 3.5.
That’s faster than the projected growth in the other two major components of the rechargeable battery market — electric vehicles, whose market is set to triple by the end of the decade, and the wireless device sector, which is expecting less than a 2.5 factor expansion.
And yet, nobody is talking about it. Our analysts have traveled the world over, dedicated to finding the best and most profitable investments in the global energy markets. All you have to do to join our Energy and Capital investment community is sign up for the daily newsletter below.
Battery Stocks Are Not All Equal… Forget Lithium Ion
Ever wonder why?
Well, the answer is deceptively simple. The one thing investors like almost as much as money is the story behind it.
It’s a weakness shared across the population and is likely the product of making money while sitting at a desk, clicking links while somebody else does the work.
People like to imagine that they’re involved in something cool, which is, sadly enough, the driver behind much if not most of the speculation in cult-following driven companies like Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL).
So when somebody with no dog in the fight, no brand allegiance and no fanboi puppy love for rockstar CEOs tells you that there’s a better way to get exposure to the power storage medium of the 21st century, it pays to listen.
The hottest plays in the battery business today, are companies engaged in the business of building distributed energy storage systems for commercial and industrial applications.
These are the biggest batteries in the world, designed to take charge off generation facilities when production outstrips consumption, and then feeds that stored power back into the grid when consumption spikes but production wanes.
Next time you drive past a solar farm, look for them. They’ll be hard to miss.
What Are Vanadium Flow Batteries?
And the best of these batteries, far and away, are known as vanadium flow batteries.
They’re bigger, they’re heavier and they’re more expensive per KwH than Lithium, which makes them unfit for applications requiring compactness. But they have one characteristic which renders everything else moot: they last 10-20 times longer than today’s standard Li-ion.
Boasting charge cycle lifespans of up to 20,000, Vanadium flow batteries last for up to 30 years in the field, which is almost exactly how long your average solar or wind farm is expected to stay in operation.
No, they’re not sexy, but that also means this sector isn’t overbought.
In fact, it’s so underbought that it’s almost unknown to the retail investor.
And yet, the industry for which this technology is perfectly suited is in the midst of an explosion in every major market in the world.
Are you starting to see the inefficiency yet?
This Battery Stock Could Be The Biggest Opportunity In The Energy Sector
Well, here’s another inefficiency. Right now, there’s only one publicly traded company that specializes exclusively in Vanadium flow batteries for the utility grade power storage market.
It’s a tiny company — just $50M market cap — and yet, such a force on the global stage that it’s already garnered a major funding commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The reason? Our energy grid doesn’t just crave these batteries to support the renewables industry, it needs them. Our energy grid is so old and overloaded that any more jumps in demand could send the entire system crashing.
How’s that for a story?
Well, here’s the thing with stories. They only last until the numbers start trickling in, and after that, with the help of institutional investors and algorithms, no amount of hype will make a difference.
Right now, as you read this, institutional investors are slowly and quietly starting to lay their claims.
More than 20% of the stock is already in the hands of the big boys. Think they know something you didn’t?
To get the latest on this company and the most overlooked corner of the rechargeable battery market, check out this presentation. Fortune favors the bold, Alex Koyfman His flagship service, Microcap Insider, provides market-beating insights into some of the fastest moving, highest profit-potential companies available for public trading on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges. With more than 5 years of track record to back it up, Microcap Insider is the choice for the growth-minded investor. Alex contributes his thoughts and insights regularly to Energy and Capital. To learn more about Alex, click here.