Misc

by Debra Fiakas, CFA The post “Water:  Invisible Crisis” introduced a new series on water supply in Latin America, describing the lack of access to quality water despite a bountiful supply of rainfall and snow melt.  As the series has unfolded we have learned that water supply in Latin America is largely a local government undertaking.  Investment opportunities are limited to water management companies that sign on to operate government-owned infrastructure or water treatment solution providers. Water supply to the north has inched further into the commercial realm.  A discussion of water investment would not be completed without a look at private water suppliers in the...

Graphene is a one-atom thick sheet of carbon atom arranged in a honeycomb lattice.  It is an exceptional conductor of heat and electricity and its strength is unparalleled.  Although synthetic graphite can be used to produce graphene and it offers the benefit of consistency, natural graphite is far less expensive as a source material.  Synthetic graphite is made by combining petroleum coke with carbon black in a high heat process that burns up profits as it purifies the carbon. There are several methods for producing graphene.  Exfoliation of natural graphite is perhaps the most common alternative because it produces the least defects and leaves...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA The post “Water:  Invisible Crisis” on December 6th highlighted the building problem of inadequate supplies of quality water in Latin America.  The World Water Council’s Comision Nacional Del Agua reports that As much as one-third of the Latin America population lacks access to safe water.  Unabated pollution and lack of water treatment have been identified as culprits.  In South America, for example, 40% to 60% of water comes from aquifers that are subject to increasing pollution from untreated run-off from mining and agriculture operations. Our survey of Latin America water sector in South America found an interesting mix of pollution abatement and water treatment...

The post “Integrated Graphene Producers” featured several graphene producers with novel business models that marry captive graphite sources to the technology and knowhow to produce graphene.  These are not the only graphite producers.  Although not as elegant as graphene with its svelte single-atom profile, the market for graphite has its appeal as well. Graphite has been a staple in steel industry crucibles, foundry molds and automobile brake linings.  These days graphite has moved into another even more important place in cars  -  lithium ion batteries that make electric vehicles viable as replacements for gas guzzling cars and trucks. Spherical graphite is especially desirable because the graphite anodes hold...

In 2010, when two physicists, Andre Greim and Konstantin Novoselov, won the Nobel Prize for Physics to recognize their work with carbon atoms, there were over 3,000 different companies with ongoing projects to develop commercial materials using their ‘graphene’ breakthrough.  With its hexagon structure of individual carbon atoms, graphene was expected to find applications in so many products, from semiconductors to turbine blades to car tires.  That is because this ‘miracle material’ is the strongest known to man.  Yes, even stronger than its carbon cousin the diamond.  Nine years later most of the throng has fallen by the wayside. Nonetheless, graphene is no bust.  At...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Grand View Research, another industry research group, estimates that the graphite market could reach $93 billion by 2025, boosted mostly by new demand for electric vehicle batteries as well as batteries for electronic devices and grid-storage systems.  According to Technavio, an industry research firm, the graphite industry is estimated to grow more than 5% annually through 2025, largely on new demand for highly purified graphite material used in lithium ion battery anodes. Among the immediate beneficiaries of this growth trend are the established graphite producers and those among the most recent entrants that have begun ringing up sales...

My friends in the divestment movement often ask me how to find an investment advisor who has a focus on fossil fuel free or otherwise green investing, so I thought I would compile a list for publication on AltEnergyStocks.com. If your advisory firm would like to be on this list, leave a comment with your Firm Name, location (city, state, country), and website, plus no more than 100 characters of notes where you can say whatever you want about your firm.  I will review each firm's website to make sure that they are properly registered, and that some flavor of...

A list of graphite companies covered in this series can be found here. Like performance test results, customer relationships are critical stepping stones for graphite developers.  In June 2018, Northern Graphite (NGC: TSX-V) announced a memorandum of understanding with a European trading company to sell 100% of the output from Northern’s Bisset Creek resources in Ontario, Canada.  China-based manufacturers are the intended end-users.  Northern management is using the arrangement as leverage with prospective investors to finance mine infrastructure and processing equipment.  Capital costs are expected to exceed CA$145 million. Northern claims a proprietary purification technology the company intends to use to upgrade its graphite output.    Its Bissett Creek deposit...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Last month Greystone Logistics (GLGI:  OTC/PK) announced a new purchase order valued at $6.8 million to supply recycled plastic pallets to a national food and agribusiness company.  The order requires the fledgling Greystone to manufacture and deliver an unspecified number of the company’s proprietary plastic shipping pallets.  Whatever the number, the contract promises a big shift in Greystone’s prospects given that the contract value represents 9% of total sales in the fiscal year. It seems Greystone is gaining visibility in the logistics supply chain.  However, trading at less than a buck a share its stock seems to not have yet registered on the...

The previous post “Miracle Material” acknowledged the fallout of many of the companies that a decade ago had set out to commercialize that extraordinary form of carbon called graphene.  It is a single atom thick but is a couple hundred times stronger than steel, showing promise for an ultra-lightweight material that could unprecedented performance. Unfortunately, developers found out carbon atoms do not behave as well in a production process as they might on a scientist’s laboratory bench. There are several companies that with perseverance and tenacity have been successful in bringing graphene into our lives. Off the Bench Haydale Graphene Industries (HAYD:  LSE) offers a mix...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Depending upon how you string the words together, it is possible to make Latin America sound like the world’s water fountain or the location of a putrid pond out of which hapless citizens ladle their drinking water. Try these lofty words. Four the world’s largest rivers and four of the world’s largest freshwater lakes can be found in the Latin America region with a run-off area encompassing 5,470 cubic miles.  The rainwater and snowmelt running into these water bodies represents 20% of the world’s run-off.  By itself Brazil is home to 20% of the water resources of the entire world. Here...

ZEN Graphene Solutions (ZEN:  TSX-V) recently teamed up with the University of Manchester, seat of the two Nobel Prize-winning scientists who are credited with isolating graphene.  ZEN management hopes to work with Manchester on commercialization of graphene for a variety of applications, including concrete, composites, membranes, and sensors. ZEN’s Albany graphite project is located in southeastern Ontario.  In March 2019, the company completed tests on a production process to purify graphite concentrate from its mine.  The purified graphite was near 99.8% carbon per gram and will be used as a precursor material for ZEN’s graphene.   The company plans to use a chemical exfoliation process to convert...