Biden’s Green Energy Boom Could Send The Electric Car Sector Into Overdrive
Editor Oilprice.com
Updated Sun, January 31, 2021
Who will become the world’s first trillionaire?
New York Times journalist Kara Swisher thinks it might just be someone in green technology…
And she could be right.
Just look at the two richest men at the moment, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk…
The Silicon Valley behemoths have a lot more in common than many might think.
Most importantly, they’re both heavily invested in green tech.
The two giants of industry have been at the forefront of the clean energy boom, driving innovation in the industry…
And now, with governments across the planet pumping billions of dollars into renewables, the tech superstars are ready to grab this trend by the horns and start collecting their next hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues.
And obviously, it’s not just about minting the first trillionaire. It’s a financial trend that’s transforming Wall Street from the button up.
Hedge funds are betting big on sustainability...but even that is driven by retail demand and growing pressure from a new generation of investors.
In fact, the biggest movers in the market over the past year have been green stocks, driven by new investors using platforms like Robinhood or WeBull. And the old school is struggling to keep up.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) cost short-sellers over $40 billion in 2020 alone …
NextEra (NYSE:NEE) has challenged Big Oil to become the darling of energy …
And growing support for alternative fuels has helped companies FuelCell (NASDAQ:FCEL) see over 600% returns...
And one Canadian company, Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF), a pioneer of green ride-hailing in North America--is well-positioned to take full advantage of the looming energy transformation thanks to its forward-looking perspective and key acquisitions in the space.
Biden’s $2 Trillion Promise.
One of President Biden’s most important promises is his plan to spend $2 trillion on reimagining the country’s infrastructure.
This plan, which has seen support from both sides of the aisle, will focus on new technology and new sources of energy.
Importantly, this will include expanded EV purchase incentives to get more people driving them, and a 500,000-strong EV charging network by 2030.
It’s no wonder then that electric vehicle stocks are soaring, as this is a huge opportunity for companies like Tesla, and companies that use electric vehicles in their business like Facedrive.
For Facedrive, the timing could not have been better following the company’s September 2020 acquisition of Steer - the electric vehicle subscription business aiming to transform car ownership.
The acquisition of Steer also meant that the energy giant Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) joined the Facedrive story, with a $2-million strategic investment by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Exelorate Enterprises, LLC.
So, just as Biden prepares a $2 trillion green infrastructure investment, Facedrive is building out its association with a major American utility and an up and coming EV subscription service that could become a disruptor.
The founder of Steer, Erica Tyspin, one of Forbes’ “Under 30 List” of top young entrepreneurs, is aiming to transform the auto industry by offering customers their own virtual EV showroom, in the form of a subscription service for on-demand car use. It’s an all-inclusive, user risk-free service that is 100% electric, plug-in, and hybrid.
For Facedrive, an ESG-focused tech ecosystem with multiple verticals, it’s the perfect match.
And if anyone is skeptical about conventional car drivers switching to Steer… the numbers might surprise you: 70% of Steer’s members have never driven an EV before. So the future of many electric vehicle drivers may well be subscription rather than ownership.
The ‘Biden Boom’ Is Bigger Than Steer ….
While Steer may be the new and exciting future of electric vehicle use, it is only the tip of Facedrive’s access to the ‘Biden Boom’.
The second exciting opportunity is its ride-hailing vertical.
As an industry, ride-hailing is worth $60 billion today and is set to top $85 billion by 2023. And while Uber and Lyft may have started this transportation revolution, they are no longer leading the way to the future.
The industry is responsible for huge amounts of pollution, and the new ‘clean’ ride-hailing movement is getting ready to transform the industry.
Uber is aiming to get to the point where 100% of its rides in American, Canadian, and European cities will be in electric vehicles by 2030, and Lyft has vowed to have 100% of rides across the board do the same.
But it was Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF) that initiated this move. It offered customers a choice of EV, hybrid or gas way back in 2019 and offset emissions by planting trees.
Now, Facedrive is looking to push aggressively into the U.S. in order to take advantage of the energy transition.
From rising subscriptions for Steer’s EV service to a ride-hailing push, carbon offset food delivery, and even countering the spread of COVID, Facedrive is getting attention for all the right reasons.
Facedrive has aggressively acquired businesses for its ‘energy transition’ ecosystem, and these are where we might find the biggest beneficiaries of the coming ‘Biden Boom’.
As the Biden administration makes history with its ambitious climate plans, Facedrive will be a company to watch.
The EV Revolution Is Only Accelerating
Fisker (NYSE:FSR) is a newcomer in the electric vehicle scene. And it’s a speculative one, at that considering that It won’t start producing its EV SUVs until 2023. But again, it’s a story stock that looks a lot like Tesla did in the early days.
Citigroup analyst Italy Michaeli just picked up coverage of Fisker, with a “Buy” rating and a price target of $26. Michaeli gets the narrative here, reminding investors that “as a pre-revenue company, Fisker is clearly a higher-risk investment proposition”, but there’s a big reason to be bullish. Fisker has four long-term advantages here: It’s making an SUV, which Michaeli says is a good segment to target. It’s got a strong brand. It’s got a legacy behind the wheel: Henrik Fisker is Fisker’s founder and he’s a legend in automotive design. And it’s a massive saver of capital because it has an innovative “asset-light” approach, getting Magna International to assemble its first vehicle. It’s already got 9,000 advance orders … prepaid.
Though Fisker has underperformed on the market compared to NIO, Tesla, Xpeng or Li, it’s still trading on massive volume and in just one month, has already climbed by more than 64% since hitting a low in November. Clearly, investors are still waiting to see how the company will hold up, especially following the Nikola disaster.
Alternative Energy Stocks Are Booming
Billionaires couldn’t keep their hands off of Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) this year, with giant BlackRock’s Larry Fink piling in heavily, among other heavy hitters. Why? Partly because Plug Power is already providing its hydrogen-powered tech solutions to big-name retailers, but overall, because the green revolution is clearly happening and unfolding as we speak. It helps that Plug's full-year guidance implies year-on-year sales growth of around 35%, even if profit won’t come for a while.
Morgan Stanley's Stephen Byrd believes green hydrogen will become economically viable quicker than investors appreciate saying Plug Power's deal with Apex Clean Energy to develop a green hydrogen network using wind power offers a chance to tap into "very low cost" renewable power and helps accelerate the shift to clean energy. Plug has a goal for over 50% of its hydrogen supplies to be generated from renewable resources by 2024.
The company has also just announced a partnership with Universal Hydrogen to build a commercially-viable hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion system designed to power commercial regional aircraft. The initiative will help bring Plug's proven hydrogen ProGen fuel cell technology to new markets.
California-based Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) builds and sells solid-oxide fuel cell systems. And, though, there has been a significant amount of cash burn, it’s an incredibly innovative company--and that’s what tech startups are all about. Growth, not necessarily immediate profit.
Bloom has recently announced a series of high-profile partnerships, including a JV with Samsung Heavy Industries and a second with a major South Korean engineering and construction company. Those partnerships could lead to a massive uptick in fuel cell deployments and analysts are looking at a potential for Bloom to increase its sales by seven times.
And this could all be about to get even bigger. Why? Because this relatively small company is thinking in huge terms: We’re not just talking about fuel cells for construction vehicles or to power remote electricity generation … Bloom is thinking far bigger than that. It’s targeting utility-scale applications of fuel cells and industrial-scale applications and drawing in some very big names in the process.
Thanks to Bloom’s innovative approach to this exploding market, it has seen its share price soar from $7.88 at the start of 2020 to $35.00 at the time of writing. In the stock world, a 300% plus return is never bad. And as this sector grows, so to could Bloom’s market cap.
FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) is another explosively volatile alternative fuel stock that has turned heads on Wall Street. Up over 100% year to date, FuelCell has been one of the most exciting companies to follow throughout the election season, with President-elect Joe Biden campaigning for a carbon-free America. In fact, analysts even estimate the U.S. could spend as much as $1.7 trillion on clean energy initiatives over the next 10 years. And that’s great news for companies like Blink, Plug and FuelCell.
Though many expect FuelCell to return to earth in the short-term, its long-term trajectory is solid. It has spent years building a patent moat and developing solutions that will tie into the energy transition perfectly.
FuelCell weathered it’s less-than-positive earnings report, but the company has managed to take advantage of the green energy boom and growing speculation about how the industry will flourish in the coming yearts.
Canada Is Also Jumping On Board
NFI Group (TSX:NFI) is one of Canada’s leaders in the electric vehicle space. It produces transit busses and motorcycles. NFI had a difficult start to the year, but it since cut its debt and begun to address its cash flow struggles in a meaningful way. Though it remains down from January highs, NFI still offers investors a promising opportunity to capitalize on the electric vehicle boom.
Recently, NFI has seen an uptick in insider stock purchases which is often a sign that the board and management strongly believe in the future of the company. In addition to its increasingly positive financial reports, it is also one of the few in the business that actually pay dividends out to its investors.
Not to be outdone, GreenPower Motor (TSX.V:GPV) a thriving electric bus manufacturer based out of Vancouver, is making mvoes on the market, as well. Although for the moment, its focus is primarily on the North American market, but its ambitions are much larger. Founded over a decade ago, GreenPower has been on the frontlines of the electric transportation movement, with a focus on building affordable battery-electric busses and trucks.
Year-to-date, GreenPower has seen its share price soar from $2.03 to $36.88. That means investors have seen 1700% gains this year alone. And with this red-hot sector only going up, GreenPower will likely continue to impress.
Magna International (TSX:MG) is a great way to gain exposure to the EV market without betting big on one of the new hot automaker stocks tearing up Robinhood right now. The 63 year old Canadian manufacturing giant provides mobility technology for automakers of all types. From GM and Ford to luxury brands like BMW and Tesla, Magna is a master at striking deals. And it’s clear to see why. The company has the experience and reputation that automakers are looking for.
Another way to gain exposure to the electric vehicle industry is through AutoCanada (TSX:ACQ), a company that operates auto-dealerships through Canada. The company carries a wide variety of new and used vehicles and has all types of financial options available to fit the needs of any consumer. While sales have slumped this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AutoCanada will likely see a rebound as both buying power and the demand for electric vehicles increases. As more new exciting EVs hit the market, AutoCanada will surely be able to ride the wave.
Like Magna, Westport Fuel Systems (TSX:WPRT) is another hardware and tech provider in the auto-industry.It builds products to help the transportation industry reduce their carbon footprint. In particular, it provides systems for less impactful fuels, such as natural gas. In North America alone, there are over 225,000 natural gas vehicles. But that shies in comparison to the global 22.5 million natural gas vehicles globally, which means the company still has a ton of room to grow!
By. Mark Beale
Originally published Sun, January 31, 2021, 3:00 PM
Editor Oilprice.com
Updated Sun, January 31, 2021
Who will become the world’s first trillionaire?
New York Times journalist Kara Swisher thinks it might just be someone in green technology…
And she could be right.
Just look at the two richest men at the moment, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk…
The Silicon Valley behemoths have a lot more in common than many might think.
Most importantly, they’re both heavily invested in green tech.
The two giants of industry have been at the forefront of the clean energy boom, driving innovation in the industry…
And now, with governments across the planet pumping billions of dollars into renewables, the tech superstars are ready to grab this trend by the horns and start collecting their next hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues.
And obviously, it’s not just about minting the first trillionaire. It’s a financial trend that’s transforming Wall Street from the button up.
Hedge funds are betting big on sustainability...but even that is driven by retail demand and growing pressure from a new generation of investors.
In fact, the biggest movers in the market over the past year have been green stocks, driven by new investors using platforms like Robinhood or WeBull. And the old school is struggling to keep up.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) cost short-sellers over $40 billion in 2020 alone …
NextEra (NYSE:NEE) has challenged Big Oil to become the darling of energy …
And growing support for alternative fuels has helped companies FuelCell (NASDAQ:FCEL) see over 600% returns...
And one Canadian company, Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF), a pioneer of green ride-hailing in North America--is well-positioned to take full advantage of the looming energy transformation thanks to its forward-looking perspective and key acquisitions in the space.
Biden’s $2 Trillion Promise.
One of President Biden’s most important promises is his plan to spend $2 trillion on reimagining the country’s infrastructure.
This plan, which has seen support from both sides of the aisle, will focus on new technology and new sources of energy.
Importantly, this will include expanded EV purchase incentives to get more people driving them, and a 500,000-strong EV charging network by 2030.
It’s no wonder then that electric vehicle stocks are soaring, as this is a huge opportunity for companies like Tesla, and companies that use electric vehicles in their business like Facedrive.
For Facedrive, the timing could not have been better following the company’s September 2020 acquisition of Steer - the electric vehicle subscription business aiming to transform car ownership.
The acquisition of Steer also meant that the energy giant Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) joined the Facedrive story, with a $2-million strategic investment by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Exelorate Enterprises, LLC.
So, just as Biden prepares a $2 trillion green infrastructure investment, Facedrive is building out its association with a major American utility and an up and coming EV subscription service that could become a disruptor.
The founder of Steer, Erica Tyspin, one of Forbes’ “Under 30 List” of top young entrepreneurs, is aiming to transform the auto industry by offering customers their own virtual EV showroom, in the form of a subscription service for on-demand car use. It’s an all-inclusive, user risk-free service that is 100% electric, plug-in, and hybrid.
For Facedrive, an ESG-focused tech ecosystem with multiple verticals, it’s the perfect match.
And if anyone is skeptical about conventional car drivers switching to Steer… the numbers might surprise you: 70% of Steer’s members have never driven an EV before. So the future of many electric vehicle drivers may well be subscription rather than ownership.
The ‘Biden Boom’ Is Bigger Than Steer ….
While Steer may be the new and exciting future of electric vehicle use, it is only the tip of Facedrive’s access to the ‘Biden Boom’.
The second exciting opportunity is its ride-hailing vertical.
As an industry, ride-hailing is worth $60 billion today and is set to top $85 billion by 2023. And while Uber and Lyft may have started this transportation revolution, they are no longer leading the way to the future.
The industry is responsible for huge amounts of pollution, and the new ‘clean’ ride-hailing movement is getting ready to transform the industry.
Uber is aiming to get to the point where 100% of its rides in American, Canadian, and European cities will be in electric vehicles by 2030, and Lyft has vowed to have 100% of rides across the board do the same.
But it was Facedrive (TSX.V:FD, OTCMKTS:FDVRF) that initiated this move. It offered customers a choice of EV, hybrid or gas way back in 2019 and offset emissions by planting trees.
Now, Facedrive is looking to push aggressively into the U.S. in order to take advantage of the energy transition.
From rising subscriptions for Steer’s EV service to a ride-hailing push, carbon offset food delivery, and even countering the spread of COVID, Facedrive is getting attention for all the right reasons.
Facedrive has aggressively acquired businesses for its ‘energy transition’ ecosystem, and these are where we might find the biggest beneficiaries of the coming ‘Biden Boom’.
As the Biden administration makes history with its ambitious climate plans, Facedrive will be a company to watch.
The EV Revolution Is Only Accelerating
Fisker (NYSE:FSR) is a newcomer in the electric vehicle scene. And it’s a speculative one, at that considering that It won’t start producing its EV SUVs until 2023. But again, it’s a story stock that looks a lot like Tesla did in the early days.
Citigroup analyst Italy Michaeli just picked up coverage of Fisker, with a “Buy” rating and a price target of $26. Michaeli gets the narrative here, reminding investors that “as a pre-revenue company, Fisker is clearly a higher-risk investment proposition”, but there’s a big reason to be bullish. Fisker has four long-term advantages here: It’s making an SUV, which Michaeli says is a good segment to target. It’s got a strong brand. It’s got a legacy behind the wheel: Henrik Fisker is Fisker’s founder and he’s a legend in automotive design. And it’s a massive saver of capital because it has an innovative “asset-light” approach, getting Magna International to assemble its first vehicle. It’s already got 9,000 advance orders … prepaid.
Though Fisker has underperformed on the market compared to NIO, Tesla, Xpeng or Li, it’s still trading on massive volume and in just one month, has already climbed by more than 64% since hitting a low in November. Clearly, investors are still waiting to see how the company will hold up, especially following the Nikola disaster.
Alternative Energy Stocks Are Booming
Billionaires couldn’t keep their hands off of Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) this year, with giant BlackRock’s Larry Fink piling in heavily, among other heavy hitters. Why? Partly because Plug Power is already providing its hydrogen-powered tech solutions to big-name retailers, but overall, because the green revolution is clearly happening and unfolding as we speak. It helps that Plug's full-year guidance implies year-on-year sales growth of around 35%, even if profit won’t come for a while.
Morgan Stanley's Stephen Byrd believes green hydrogen will become economically viable quicker than investors appreciate saying Plug Power's deal with Apex Clean Energy to develop a green hydrogen network using wind power offers a chance to tap into "very low cost" renewable power and helps accelerate the shift to clean energy. Plug has a goal for over 50% of its hydrogen supplies to be generated from renewable resources by 2024.
The company has also just announced a partnership with Universal Hydrogen to build a commercially-viable hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion system designed to power commercial regional aircraft. The initiative will help bring Plug's proven hydrogen ProGen fuel cell technology to new markets.
California-based Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) builds and sells solid-oxide fuel cell systems. And, though, there has been a significant amount of cash burn, it’s an incredibly innovative company--and that’s what tech startups are all about. Growth, not necessarily immediate profit.
Bloom has recently announced a series of high-profile partnerships, including a JV with Samsung Heavy Industries and a second with a major South Korean engineering and construction company. Those partnerships could lead to a massive uptick in fuel cell deployments and analysts are looking at a potential for Bloom to increase its sales by seven times.
And this could all be about to get even bigger. Why? Because this relatively small company is thinking in huge terms: We’re not just talking about fuel cells for construction vehicles or to power remote electricity generation … Bloom is thinking far bigger than that. It’s targeting utility-scale applications of fuel cells and industrial-scale applications and drawing in some very big names in the process.
Thanks to Bloom’s innovative approach to this exploding market, it has seen its share price soar from $7.88 at the start of 2020 to $35.00 at the time of writing. In the stock world, a 300% plus return is never bad. And as this sector grows, so to could Bloom’s market cap.
FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) is another explosively volatile alternative fuel stock that has turned heads on Wall Street. Up over 100% year to date, FuelCell has been one of the most exciting companies to follow throughout the election season, with President-elect Joe Biden campaigning for a carbon-free America. In fact, analysts even estimate the U.S. could spend as much as $1.7 trillion on clean energy initiatives over the next 10 years. And that’s great news for companies like Blink, Plug and FuelCell.
Though many expect FuelCell to return to earth in the short-term, its long-term trajectory is solid. It has spent years building a patent moat and developing solutions that will tie into the energy transition perfectly.
FuelCell weathered it’s less-than-positive earnings report, but the company has managed to take advantage of the green energy boom and growing speculation about how the industry will flourish in the coming yearts.
Canada Is Also Jumping On Board
NFI Group (TSX:NFI) is one of Canada’s leaders in the electric vehicle space. It produces transit busses and motorcycles. NFI had a difficult start to the year, but it since cut its debt and begun to address its cash flow struggles in a meaningful way. Though it remains down from January highs, NFI still offers investors a promising opportunity to capitalize on the electric vehicle boom.
Recently, NFI has seen an uptick in insider stock purchases which is often a sign that the board and management strongly believe in the future of the company. In addition to its increasingly positive financial reports, it is also one of the few in the business that actually pay dividends out to its investors.
Not to be outdone, GreenPower Motor (TSX.V:GPV) a thriving electric bus manufacturer based out of Vancouver, is making mvoes on the market, as well. Although for the moment, its focus is primarily on the North American market, but its ambitions are much larger. Founded over a decade ago, GreenPower has been on the frontlines of the electric transportation movement, with a focus on building affordable battery-electric busses and trucks.
Year-to-date, GreenPower has seen its share price soar from $2.03 to $36.88. That means investors have seen 1700% gains this year alone. And with this red-hot sector only going up, GreenPower will likely continue to impress.
Magna International (TSX:MG) is a great way to gain exposure to the EV market without betting big on one of the new hot automaker stocks tearing up Robinhood right now. The 63 year old Canadian manufacturing giant provides mobility technology for automakers of all types. From GM and Ford to luxury brands like BMW and Tesla, Magna is a master at striking deals. And it’s clear to see why. The company has the experience and reputation that automakers are looking for.
Another way to gain exposure to the electric vehicle industry is through AutoCanada (TSX:ACQ), a company that operates auto-dealerships through Canada. The company carries a wide variety of new and used vehicles and has all types of financial options available to fit the needs of any consumer. While sales have slumped this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AutoCanada will likely see a rebound as both buying power and the demand for electric vehicles increases. As more new exciting EVs hit the market, AutoCanada will surely be able to ride the wave.
Like Magna, Westport Fuel Systems (TSX:WPRT) is another hardware and tech provider in the auto-industry.It builds products to help the transportation industry reduce their carbon footprint. In particular, it provides systems for less impactful fuels, such as natural gas. In North America alone, there are over 225,000 natural gas vehicles. But that shies in comparison to the global 22.5 million natural gas vehicles globally, which means the company still has a ton of room to grow!
By. Mark Beale
Originally published Sun, January 31, 2021, 3:00 PM
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