In the interest of presenting some compelling emerging growth ideas in this mega-cap-dominated market, I decided to run with the ball myself.
The companies you really should be watching? Exro Technologies (EXROF) , Lomiko Metals (LMRMF) , Naqi Logix, Nano One Materials (NNOMF) and Vicinity Motor (VEV) .
Let's go through each:
Power Up With Nano and Exro
It is a diverse and fascinating group. I have written about Nano and Exro previously. Like a proud parent, I have seen both companies "graduate" from the TSX-V to the Toronto exchange's main board. The increased sponsorship has been accompanied by a steady stream of press releases heralding new customer relationships for both companies.
Massive opportunities exist for both Nano and Exro. Nano's patented One-Pot process and proprietary M2CAM technology can vastly improve the performance and durability of the cathode in an electric vehicle battery, while lowering the carbon density of the materials that are shipped (on ships powered by hydrocarbons) from disparate regions to EV battery manufacturers. Exro's coil drivers enable multiple torque profiles from an EV powertrain, especially useful at the larger (trucks, buses, trains) and smaller ends (e-bikes, scooters) of the transportation spectrum. Exro also has a proprietary battery control technology, which will enable current-gen lithium-ion battery stacks to gain a second life instead of heading to a landfill.
Shifting Gears With Lomiko and Vicinity
Like Nano and Exro, Vicinity and Lomiko will also participate in the world's shift to electrified powertrains. Vicinity is agnostic in the transformation of the bus market, with a line of CNG, gas and clean diesel buses. But the real juice in the Vicinity story is the Lightning EV bus, with batteries supplied by BMW (BMWYY). Competitors like Proterra (PTRA) , which I mentioned in my last column, have had some epic fails supplying buses for municipal fleets. There is ample room for a better mousetrap here. I believe Vicinity has it.
As Nano's brilliant scientists work on perfecting the cathode side of EV batteries, investors should not forget that the anode side is composed largely of graphite. The rule of thumb is that a lithium-ion EV battery requires 10 times as much graphite as lithium. Lomiko's La Loutre prospect in Quebec, currently the subject of a preliminary economic analysis, is a 25-square kilometer parcel that is located near Imerys' Timcal mine. The world will need massive amounts of graphite as the transportation fleet electrifies, and mining it in Mozambique and then putting it on a ship to China to refine it really defeats the decarbonization purpose. Local supply is key.
A Bit of Logix...
Finally there is Naqi Logix. Naqi is a private company chaired by Mark Godsy, also the chairman of Exro. So, there is not yet an investment angle for Naqi, but I believe there will be one soon. Watch Naqi's promotional video (https://vimeo.com/574075645; password: naqi21). If you can watch it and not utter at least one "wow" as Naqi's earbud-based neuro controller makes computer screens scroll and robots walk just from its subject's facial micro-gestures and minute head movements, then you are truly jaded.
All of these companies will be included -- with CEOs presenting -- in the Excelsior Capital Partners Management Access Conference on Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. ET. You can find the livestream here: https://vimeo.com/580770157
Finally, as an aside, I have learned through painful experience that Big Tech, specifically Big Videoconferencing, is downright awful in terms of customer service and onboarding. I believe I have found one with Vimeo (VMEO) , however, which is not only not in the parabolic trajectory of so many tech stocks, but has actually declined 10% from its first day price after being spun out from Barry Diller's IAC in May. One to watch.
