Wall Street Doesn’t Get It But You Can – Cash In On PHEVs With LG Chem, NEC, GS Yuasa (Pt. 2 of 4)
Editor’s Note: In keeping with its policy to be solely a news source, this EnergyTechStocks.com Special Report is for information purposes only.
Posted: August 6, 2008
The hottest investment on the horizon is plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), environmentally-friendly cars and trucks that can go 40 miles or farther on a single “fill up” from an ordinary electrical outlet. The first PHEVs arrive this year and next and by 2010 the car world will be electrified. But don’t expect Wall Street to help you mine this new “green” sector. Unlike for wind and solar power, there’s no exchange-traded or mutual fund for PHEVs, because many expected beneficiaries don’t meet the Street’s arbitrary rule that a company must get at least 50% of its total revenue from a green business.
We’ve got some suggestions, broken down into categories, continuing with three leading lithium-ion car battery developers: LG Chem, NEC Corp. and GS Yuasa. (These are in addition to automakers Toyota and Nissan, which also are going to make batteries for PHEVs.)
LG Chem is South Korea’s largest chemical company. It has a Michigan-based unit, Compact Power Inc., which according to Mike Millikin of the authoritative web site Green Car Congress, has strong commercial ties thanks to deals to supply lithium-ion batteries to General Motors and Hyundai.
Meanwhile, NEC, through a joint venture with Nissan known as Automotive Energy Supply Corp., is well-positioned to take advantage of Nissan’s seeming determination to overtake its Japanese rivals and become known as THE energy-efficient car company in the world. Two weeks ago Automotive Energy Supply said it plans to invest $115 million over three years to expand its lithium-ion battery production.
Separately, Japan’s GS Yuasa is teamed up with Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors, which is expected to be the first major carmaker to sell a PHEV. GS Yuasa is already Asia’s biggest car battery maker. Lithium Energy Japan, as the joint venture is called, “aims to take a leading role” in lithium-ion battery production, the company said last December.
Part 1 of 4 - Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota