PPK Group [ASX:PPK] has been on a roller coaster ride over the past 24 hours.
The company started out earlier on Tuesday riding as high as nearly 30% at its last closing price, but took a nosedive by the afternoon, trading at a sharp 5.5% deficit.
What caused such volatility?
Confusion was circulating when the company’s shares were pushing higher and higher yesterday, but reason soon became clear once an update from its investee company Li-S Energy [ASX:LIS] hit the market, describing the development of a new lithium-sulfur battery.
While PPK dropped this afternoon, LIS rocketed 30% for the day’s trade.
PPK has plummeted more than 18% so far in 2023, and nearly 7% in the past 12 months.
PPK was trading around $1.66 a share this afternoon.
The stock is down 73% compared to the wider S&P 200:
www.TradingView.com
PPK celebrates Li-S Energy’s win
Tuesday morning saw PPK demonstrating pleasure in sharing news of Li-S Energy’s development of a 20-layer, semi-solid-state lithium-sulfur battery.
Li-S Energy achieved a 45% increase in volumetric energy density within its first lithium-sulfur battery, which uses third-generation semi-solid-state technology and is produced locally in Geelong, Victoria.
The 20-layer cells have been built using low-flammability materials, which should make them safer than traditional lithium-sulfur and lithium-ion cells that use higher flammability options.
But why was PPK Group posting this news?
PPK holds a ‘direct and indirect interest’ of 50.23% in Li-S Energy, so it has seen fit to celebrate the success of its investee company, eyeing the spoils that are anticipated to follow such a breakthrough in technology.
The news had leaked ahead of Li-S’s announcement, however, as yesterday shares for PPK were skyrocketing more than 29%
Trade evidently had calmed since the suspension lifted; however, shares dipped the opposite way.
Robin Levison, PPK’s Chairman, commented:
‘Li-S Energy’s development of its 20 layer battery cell using semi-solid state lithium sulfur technology is a major achievement and highlights the progress made by Li-S over the past 12 months. The potential to significantly reduce the physical size of the battery packs through the 45% increase in volumetric energy will undoubtedly be of significant commercial interest to high value partners in sectors such as drones and eAviation. These pivotal results are a testament to the Li-S team and further validate the patent protected Li-nanomesh technology and benefits of incorporating Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) into the cell construction.’
Li-S Energy said that it has already gained inquiries that reiterate significant commercial interest to high-value partners in the drone and eAvaition sectors, saying that the company has already established coalition partners within these industries.
LIS estimates the combined eAviation and drone battery market is due to exceed $48 billion per year by 2035, based on international research organisations IDTechEX and Precedence Research.
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Regards,
Mahlia Stewart
For Money Morning
