Earlier this week, Chinese EV maker SAIC Motor Corporation unveiled the first ever production EV equipped with the much-talked about solid state rechargeable battery.
These batteries offer three main advantages over classic LI-Ion energy storage: enhanced storage capacity, improved charge speed, and better safety.
SAIC’s EV branch, Intelligent Mobility (IM), operates exclusively in China at the moment, but plans to expand sales into Europe next year with its L7 compact sedan expected to be the centerpiece of the product line.
While both LI-Ion and solid state options are available to Chinese buyers, solid state is expected to play an increasingly important role moving forward.
According to IM, the solid-state powered L7 has a range of 1000 KM (600+ miles) with charge times cut down from 40 minutes to just 15. 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.
How Different Are Solid State and Li-Ion? You Might Be surprised
In addition, without liquid electrolyte, the single biggest failure point of the li-ion battery will become a thing of the past.
Solid electrolytes, as the name suggests, will not swell and burst under the strain of electrical resistance and the resulting heat, and will thus be far more fire-resistant than its predecessor.
But here’s the thing… While this new generation of batteries carries a different name and appears to be a complete departure from a standard that’s been with us for 3 decades now, the changes are more superficial than you might think.
Solid state batteries still use lithium-ions to create a flow of electrons, which means that the new batteries are not too far removed from those we’re using today.
So to answer an even bigger question: No, lithium isn’t going anywhere.
Not when solid-state batteries take over the market and probably not even when the next iteration — whatever that may be — comes around to supplant solid state.
Lithium Will Remain The King Of Energy Metals For Years To Come
Lithium is a very unique metal in its properties. It’s the least dense of all metals and possesses electrochemical potential that is without parallel, so it’s here to stay.
The problem is supply.
Last year, unbeknownst to the general public (and the markets), global lithium demand exceeded supply for the first time ever.
But in a twist of fate that left many scratching their heads, lithium prices crashed from $80,000/ton to less than $20k/ton during that same period.
The reason? The speculative bubble which inflated those prices between 2021 and the end of 2022 burst.
Don’t Expect Bubbles To Make Sense
Bubbles don’t reflect reality on any level except for the emotional state of the world’s most weak-handed investors.
When things were going well, they were piling in like maniacs hoping to avoid the dreaded FOMO which drives every speculative bubble.
When things hit a speed bump, these same emotional investors ran for the hills, causing the entire market to collapse.
Meanwhile, our appetite for lithium exploded even as production failed to keep up.
Today, with prices back down to earth and demand still skyrocketing, the lithium market is the bargain-seeking speculator’s dream.
You’re not likely going to see prices like this again, and you’re also not likely going to see another bubble either, as that very predictable phase of the cycle is now behind us.
So where does that leave us?
The Oldest Rule Of Investing Hasn’t Changed… Invest When There’s Blood In The Streets
It leaves us on the cusp of what might become the biggest bull market of the first half of the 21st century… And it leaves prospective investors with perhaps the most important choice of their investment careers: How do I play this?
Well, I have a few ideas… And one of those ideas involves the world’s biggest lithium deposit ever discovered.
It currently lies dormant and undeveloped under a patch of desert landscape straddling the Nevada/Oregon border, but in a few years time this could be an operation big enough to change the balance of the global lithium market.
Just a few weeks ago, the entire project was under question, but now with a $2B+ commitment from the Department of Energy, it looks like this property will become the focal point of a bonafide disruption to the entire lithium industry.
I’ve been on this story for a while now, long before the Biden DOE got its hands into it.
Want to know what I know?
Enter here and get informed. 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.
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