Market for EV batteries continues to grow strongly

In the EV space, companies positioning themselves as an integral part of the supply chain for the manufacture and supply of EVs are a strong secular growth theme. One of the key subsets in this equation are companies involved in the manufacture and improvement of batteries . According to a recent study by Technavio, "the advances in electric vehicle batteries and related technologies will offer immense growth opportunities. To take advantage of these opportunities, suppliers must strengthen their position in the fast-growing segments while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. " Technavio's report predicts that the electric vehicle battery market will grow by an additional $ 38 billion annually between 2021 and 2025. According to a report by the US Department of Energy, analysts predict that the demand for mobility storage will reach 0.8 to 3.0 TWh in 2030, powered by light electric vehicles, which is a huge leap from where it is today and a huge growth in the battery-related industrial infrastructure is required to support such a huge surge in demand. This suggests that innovators in the battery space are one of the most promising and exciting investment opportunities, which points to stocks related to the battery supply theme including Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), KULR Technology Group Inc (NYSEAMERICAN: KULR), Romeo Power Inc (NYSE: RMO), Quantumscape Corp (NYSE: QS), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM), and Tesla Inc (Nasdaq: TSLA). Below we take a look at some of the current catalysts in this area. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a major player in the battery industry. The company develops, manufactures and markets chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, power, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food safety and custom chemical services. The company operates in the following segments: lithium, bromine specialties and catalysts. The lithium segment is the most important for our topic today and deals with the development and manufacture of basic lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride and lithium specialties and reagents with added value. This lithium can then be used in lithium-ion batteries such as those used in most electric vehicles. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) just announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, including net income of $ 424.6 million, or $ 3.62 per diluted share adjusted diluted EPS of $ 0.89, an increase of 4%; and net sales of $ 773.9 million, an increase of 1%. Net sales excluding FCS increased 5%. "Albemarle had another strong quarter, generating adjusted EBITDA of $ 195 million, driven by continued strong demand for our lithium and bromine products," said Albemarle CEO Kent Masters. "We are focused on executing our accelerated growth strategy. We are in the final stages of two lithium projects that will double our capacity to approximately 175,000 tons, including La Negra III / IV, where construction is complete and commissioning is in progress. We are firm Determined to advance all of our lithium projects to meet customer demand and accelerate profitable growth. " And the stock has done well for the past few days, up about 7% in that time. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) posted total revenues of $ 829.3 million for the company's most recent quarterly results - a figure that represents a 12.2% increase in revenue compared to last year’s numbers. Additionally, the company is struggling with some accounting hurdles as cash and cash equivalents cannot keep up with current liabilities ($ 569.9 million versus $ 953.3 million). KULR Technology Group Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: KULR) manufactures and licenses the next generation of carbon fiber thermal management technologies for batteries and electronic systems. This company is particularly interesting because it has high credibility, an important niche, and almost no direct competition, which bodes well in the long run.