Anyone looking for modern technologies, will find them at thyssenkrupp AG. After years of restructuring, the Essen-based group can report an initial positive conclusion: The transformation to modernity has been successfully implemented! The sale of non-core activities is not yet complete, but the measures of the transformation program are already taking effect. In its new form, thyssenkrupp AG and its subsidiaries are now a high-performing group with strong independent businesses. At present, the risks of significantly increased raw material prices and disrupted supply chains remain, but they should be manageable over time and no longer pose a threat to the medium-term outlook. However, the continuation of the armed conflicts in Eastern Europe directly impacts individual areas of the thyssenkrupp Group. We analyze the opportunities and risks.
In the debate about the spread of electromobility and the battery metals required, the focus is often on the raw materials lithium, cobalt and copper. Another key raw material is criminally neglected: nickel. Due to its specific properties, the metal is of central importance in implementing the energy and transport revolution. Demand for the raw material will continue to increase in the foreseeable future, and sufficient supplies of the metal will become increasingly critical. This is the hour of (prospective) nickel producers. One of these companies, which is currently under the radar of most investors with a stock market value of around CAD 15 million, is Power Nickel. The Company is focused on a high-potential battery metal project in Canada. The gold-copper assets will be taken public in the next few months as a spin-off in a separate company. This sharpens the equity story and should give the share positive impetus. In the short term, important newsflow is expected from the current drilling program at the battery metal project. A new resource estimate announced for the second quarter could provide the impetus for a significantly higher valuation of the shares.
Since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the world has changed fundamentally. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for peace demonstrations across Europe over the weekend, but a solution to the conflict seems frighteningly distant. On the contrary, with the exclusion of Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT system and further sanctions, the situation threatens to worsen. To ensure Germany's security in the future, the German government plans to release a total of EUR 100 billion for the German armed forces in 2022 via a special fund for investments and defense projects. In addition, at least 2% of gross domestic product is to flow into defense each year with immediate effect. This news is tantamount to reassessment for the Rheinmetall defense group, which already posted record results in 2021.
In around 20 years, industry, mobility, electricity and heat generation are to be completely climate-neutral, and fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are increasingly being replaced by renewable energies. In addition to wind and solar energy, policymakers are increasingly focusing on hydrogen as a source of energy. According to a study, experts such as the Hydrogen Council estimate that the invisible, odorless and non-toxic gas will have a market volume of USD 2.5 trillion by 2050. As a pioneer and leading manufacturer of fuel cells, NASDAQ-listed Plug Power aims to profit by building a comprehensive green hydrogen ecosystem that spans production, storage, delivery and power generation. The projections issued by management through 2025 sound euphoric. Yet some questions remain.
From an investor's point of view, 2022 is much more challenging than 2021. Inflation flared up noticeably last year. The dimension was still quite manageable for market participants and growth-oriented investors, as the capital market interest rate remained in a minus interest rate scenario shaped by the central banks until the fall of 2021. Now, however, the tide has turned: In January, the U.S. Federal Reserve was confronted with an inflation rate of 7.5%, the highest rate of price increases since 1982. The markets reacted with shock and sent the ten-year U.S. Treasury rate above the magic 2% mark. It is now becoming much more expensive for all those seeking capital, but those who are now smelling spring air are the banks because the interest margin that had been out of sight for almost a decade is returning. The original banking business is back, and for the industry leader Deutsche Bank it is like a comeback to the premier league.
The mobility revolution is in full swing. The future belongs to battery-powered vehicles. The sales figures for e-cars are rising sharply worldwide. So is the price for the all-important raw material lithium. With innovative approaches, Altech Advanced Materials AG could revolutionize the market for lithium-ion batteries. Conventional lithium-ion batteries already lose significant power during the first charging cycle. Altech uses an anode coating with high-purity aluminum oxide (HPA) and an enrichment of silicon. In this way, battery performance can be increased by more than 15%, and service life can be extended by as much as 30%. The Company is still a long way from bringing its products to market. The next stage is to set up a pilot production facility and demonstrate commercial and industrial production. If this succeeds, customers are likely to be knocking at the Company's doors. An analysis.
At the beginning of December last year, we took an in-depth look at the Canadian biotech company XPhyto Therapeutics. The in-depth report looked at the three divisions - Diagnostics, Innovative Dosage Forms and Psychedelics - and put the business in the context of the overall market. In the meantime, a lot has happened at XPhyto: the Company has published an update on the individual business areas and announced news around its activities in rapid PCR-quality corona tests. Reason enough for an update.
After years of hype, the prices of the best-known biotech shares have also fallen recently. The Canadian cancer hopeful Defence Therapeutics (ISIN: CA24463V1013) has also lost ground in recent months. Yet the Company is on a strong course. Defence Therapeutics has patented Accum™, a technology for drug conjugates, which it also uses for vaccinations. Two Phase 1 trials are scheduled to start against breast and skin cancer this year. In addition, Defence Therapeutics has another iron in the fire with a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV). As Defence CEO Sébastien Plouffe points out, some major industry players are already showing interest in collaborations. An update.
The market correction for stocks related to electromobility, hydrogen and fuel cell technology continued to gain momentum in recent weeks. However, First Hydrogen (ISIN:CA32057N1042) was able to escape this. Since the publication of our initial report at the end of December '21, the share price has increased by around 63%. In addition to the positive share price performance, the Company has also shone on a fundamental level. For example, First Hydrogen is making good progress with the market launch of hydrogen filling stations. In addition, the quality of the management staff was significantly increased in order to achieve the targets.
Digitalization is one of the most important social and economic developments of our time. Companies face the challenge of rethinking business operations and processes with the help of existing digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, blockchain or artificial intelligence, and in some cases implementing radically new processes. While many projects fail, the transition from the analog industrial age to knowledge and creativity shaped by digital technologies and digital innovations offers opportunities to establish new, highly scalable business models. In 2015, the former publishing house Aspermont started its digital transformation by building a unique platform technology. This transformation was completed last year. Since then, the expansion phase has been gaining momentum. The opportunities for the Australian company are enormous but have hardly been noticed by the market yet.