Lithium Americas Corp.
A small handful of companies in the clean/efficient energy sector bucked Monday’s stock market downer by making strong gains. Two of these companies, lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: AONE)) and wind turbine tower manufacturer Broadwind Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: BWEN), also halted months of sinking share prices.
The EnergyBoom solar (E•B Solar) and efficiency (E•B Efficiency) subindices outperformed the broad market indices and the Green ETFs during the first week of 2011.
Leading the E•B Solar were:
- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) 16.9 percent
- GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) 15.13 percent
- ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) 11.1 percent
Shares of the world’s leading lithium producing companies are going gangbusters. Although lithium is used in a wide range of products, one likely explanation is that investors want exposure to the mineral that is critical to the batteries in the first mass-market electric vehicle’s (EVs).
The “Lithium Rush” is in full swing. Existing producers are expanding properties and junior mining companies are looking for news ones to meet the demand from the dozen automakers who are introducing new electric vehicles over the next two years. Some automakers are investing in mining projects to ensure their future lithium supplies.
