High Voltage: One of the year’s most anticipated battery IPOs is listing today

Our High Voltage column wraps all the news driving ASX stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and vanadium.

Due to hit the bourse Tuesday is PPK Group (ASX:PPK) spin out Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) which may have developed a breakthrough battery tech with greater storage capacity than lithium-ion.

Li-S believes it has overcome the inherent problems with lithium-sulphur batteries by using boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) as a nano-insulator.

BNNT –a ‘superfibre’ 100 times stronger than steel, light as carbon fibre, super flexible, more thermally conductive than copper, and able to sustain high temperatures of up to 1000 degrees without degrading – is the reason PPK’s share price has jumped a massive 10,000% in the last five years.

You read that right: 10,000%.

A disruptive battery technology

Lithium-sulphur batteries (also known as Li-S batteries) have the potential to provide a much greater energy storage capacity than current lithium-ion batteries.

However, to date their main drawback has been that they tend to fail after relatively few charging cycles, and this has inhibited their mass adoption, Li-S Energy chairman Ben Spincer says.

“By using BNNTs and other novel components in its new lithium-sulphur battery technology, Li-S Energy has substantially increased cycle life,” he says.

“Test batteries have now demonstrated sustained performance over 600 charge/recharge cycles whilst retaining a specific energy capacity almost three times that of a typical commercial lithium-ion battery.”

Affordable, high-performance lithium-sulphur batteries could lead to EVs that drive further, drones that fly longer, and mobile devices that last for days instead of hours, Spincer says.

“To advance its strategy, Li-S Energy intends to scale up its development and production team, install a pilot battery production plant and, in collaboration with product manufacturers, retrofit Li-S Energy batteries into a range of products to demonstrate clearly the performance advantages.”

Li-S shares will begin trading for 85c on Tuesday, 11am AEST.

Here’s how a basket of ASX stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, rare earths and vanadium are performing>>>

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort. Best viewed on a laptop:

CODE	COMPANY	1 WEEK RETURN %	1 MONTH RETURN %	6 MONTH RETURN %	1 YEAR RETURN %	PRICE	MARKET CAP
HNR	Hannans	55	386	325	386	0.034	$ 80,239,224.53
PNN	PepinNini Minerals	52	56	67	241	0.485	$ 25,078,626.10
ARU	Arafura Resources	39	59	16	172	0.215	$ 302,239,729.74
TON	Triton Minerals	27	6	-22	-28	0.038	$ 43,109,786.55
AVZ	AVZ Minerals	24	62	70	470	0.3475	$ 1,029,815,257.60
IPT	Impact Minerals	23	33	-33	-33	0.016	$ 30,356,923.79
GBR	Greatbould Resources	21	130	486	347	0.205	$ 73,233,340.85
INF	Infinity Lithium	17	39	-25	67	0.135	$ 52,378,892.28
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp	16	71	21	164	0.029	$ 17,280,837.31
LKE	Lake Resources	16	5	83	1002	0.595	$ 702,328,015.63
STK	Strickland Metals	15	45	179	7	0.055	$ 56,192,916.21
GME	GME Resources	13	34	11	55	0.071	$ 42,173,344.10
HAS	Hastings Tech Met	12	43	53	129	0.275	$ 451,998,369.16
HWK	Hawkstone Mng	10	18	13	221	0.045	$ 68,793,777.24
NTU	Northern Min	10	21	10	59	0.046	$ 217,877,083.47
EUR	European Lithium	10	51	69	125	0.115	$ 115,091,416.44
NMT	Neometals	8	24	148	389	0.905	$ 520,957,576.20
NMT	Neometals	8	24	148	389	0.905	$ 520,957,576.20
PEK	Peak Resources	7	6	-2	233	0.09	$ 160,012,847.69
SLZ	Sultan Resources	6	-3	-19	-17	0.17	$ 11,820,846.13
MLX	Metals X Limited	6	45	73	428	0.38	$ 340,224,775.13
AQD	Ausquest Limited	5	0	-9	-33	0.02	$ 16,463,796.62
BRB	Breaker Res NL	4	39	33	30	0.285	$ 91,235,460.12
NWC	New World Resources	3	3	4	103	0.071	$ 112,652,252.50
ARR	American Rare Earths	3	48	113	525	0.2	$ 62,065,498.68
WKT	Walkabout Resources	2	-9	40	-7	0.21	$ 85,081,345.40
AAJ	Aruma Resources	2	24	32	-22	0.094	$ 12,470,188.80
INR	Ioneer	1	30	73	536	0.6675	$ 1,342,458,815.21
TLG	Talga Group	1	15	13	104	1.53	$ 474,554,802.89
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0	-3	-35	373	0.71	$ 418,233,722.50
MLS	Metals Australia	0	0	-20	-20	0.002	$ 8,454,376.09
GED	Golden Deeps	0	0	10	-24	0.011	$ 8,922,291.56
BAR	Barra Resources	0	27	27	17	0.028	$ 21,360,712.85
FGR	First Graphene	0	-12	-24	48	0.185	$ 101,698,382.41
CWX	Carawine Resources	0	-5	-30	-15	0.2	$ 21,777,980.40
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0	0	0	0	0.008	$ 4,599,869.49
AJM	Altura Mining	0	0	0	0	0.07	$ 209,037,029.25
ATM	Aneka Tambang	0	0	0	0	1	$ 1,303,649.00
VMC	Venus Metals Cor	0	3	-8	-22	0.175	$ 25,683,376.11
AML	Aeon Metals .	0	7	-39	-55	0.059	$ 46,943,492.26
TKL	Traka Resources	0	0	-18	-30	0.014	$ 8,087,402.62
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0	51	205	1162	0.265	$ 359,237,479.72
SBR	Sabre Resources	0	25	0	-58	0.005	$ 8,415,318.25
ARL	Ardea Resources	-1	-6	-9	7	0.475	$ 66,256,425.12
AXE	Archer Materials	-1	-3	107	258	1.9	$ 425,811,241.02
LTR	Liontown Resources	-1	80	261	686	1.5325	$ 3,096,108,978.84
PAN	Panoramic Resources	-1	21	61	120	0.2175	$ 440,946,510.86
MIN	Mineral Resources.	-1	-9	31	89	47.57	$ 8,762,649,790.40
GW1	Greenwing Resources	-2	25	-47	60	0.32	$ 36,905,460.59
MCR	Mincor Resources NL	-2	-4	31	46	1.28	$ 613,641,331.20
MOH	Moho Resources	-2	8	-27	-39	0.064	$ 6,816,176.53
SRI	Sipa Resources	-2	-9	13	-15	0.061	$ 10,950,858.04
AVL	Aust Vanadium	-2	-6	2	44	0.0245	$ 72,178,160.58
OZL	OZ Minerals	-2	3	2	65	22.76	$ 7,730,785,724.41
BKT	Black Rock Mining	-2	38	60	257	0.2	$ 165,892,859.34
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	-3	47			0.78	$ 26,162,500.00
EGR	Ecograf Limited	-3	-18	17	356	0.73	$ 328,378,425.07
IXR	Ionic Rare Earths	-3	16	-35	227	0.036	$ 118,733,982.99
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	-3	-6	12	67	0.325	$ 292,771,881.99
RNU	Renascor Res	-3	55	3	1092	0.155	$ 282,126,547.80
BHP	BHP Group Limited	-3	-16	-16	2	37.82	$ 111,283,482,581.68
MRC	Mineral Commodities	-3	-7	-61	-57	0.14	$ 74,758,688.76
IGO	IGO Limited	-4	-2	48	115	9.04	$ 6,982,009,235.86
IGO	IGO Limited	-4	-2	48	115	9.04	$ 6,982,009,235.86
CLA	Celsius Resource	-4	13	-31	-7	0.027	$ 28,275,158.19
CTM	Centaurus Metals	-4	5	26	115	0.98	$ 336,854,470.96
AUZ	Australian Mines	-4	-4	24	81	0.023	$ 98,981,859.62
REE	Rarex Limited	-4	28	-12	49	0.11	$ 48,546,269.43
PSC	Prospect Res	-4	28	153	161	0.43	$ 178,338,443.78
GL1	Globallith	-5	8			0.41	$ 35,590,358.40
SRL	Sunrise	-5	4	-32	-31	1.63	$ 147,694,921.56
ORE	Orocobre Limited	-5	-3	95	248	8.88	$ 5,712,229,250.56
BOA	Boadicea Resources	-5	-10	-12	-15	0.18	$ 13,985,981.10
CZN	Corazon	-5	-8	-38	-10	0.036	$ 8,629,797.28
SYR	Syrah Resources	-5	-10	8	173	1.145	$ 581,025,952.30
LIT	Lithium Australia NL	-6	-2	2	141	0.1275	$ 123,491,564.13
VRC	Volt Resources	-6	22	94	136	0.033	$ 87,376,646.12
PUR	Pursuit Minerals	-6	-21	-34	296	0.048	$ 44,976,667.97
HXG	Hexagon Energy	-6	10	-21	39	0.079	$ 34,789,078.51
PRL	Province Resources	-6	7	-3	527	0.155	$ 180,745,569.76
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	-6	210	174		0.465	$ 32,956,149.12
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	-6	210	174		0.465	$ 32,956,149.12
LYC	Lynas Rare Earths	-6	9	26	200	7.08	$ 6,244,687,953.68
JRV	Jervois Global	-6	18	13	94	0.52	$ 818,160,405.48
ASN	Anson Resources	-6	1	5	287	0.089	$ 90,114,674.82
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int	-7	2	12	63	0.285	$ 102,887,105.16
AOU	Auroch Minerals	-7	11	-29	134	0.1775	$ 51,948,851.68
ARN	Aldoro Resources	-7	-6	98	343	0.425	$ 38,681,979.16
ARN	Aldoro Resources	-7	-6	98	343	0.425	$ 38,681,979.16
ALY	Alchemy Resource	-7	8	0	-30	0.014	$ 9,411,408.34
TNG	TNG Limited	-7	9	-25	-30	0.083	$ 101,209,260.24
MAN	Mandrake Res	-7	-11	-68	-27	0.055	$ 27,692,133.06
GAL	Galileo Mining	-7	-7	20	15	0.27	$ 47,068,337.40
LEG	Legend Mining	-7	-20	-46	-55	0.065	$ 179,083,821.87
BUX	Buxton Resources	-7	-21	-3	-30	0.065	$ 8,979,658.51
COB	Cobalt Blue	-7	35	-14	287	0.325	$ 98,503,959.51
VR8	Vanadium Resources	-7	19	25	129	0.064	$ 27,198,866.83
GLN	Galan Lithium	-8	-4	80	569	0.97	$ 271,528,752.00
G88	Golden Mile Res	-8	-9	-4	-28	0.048	$ 8,208,879.74
FFX	Firefinch	-8	8	179	300	0.6	$ 564,205,114.97
TMT	Technology Metals	-8	8	9	48	0.415	$ 62,323,893.66
SYA	Sayona Mining	-8	35	362	1702	0.175	$ 1,071,566,162.80
S2R	S2 Resources	-8	-30	-48	-64	0.091	$ 32,430,111.81
AGY	Argosy Minerals	-8	3	65	211	0.165	$ 212,546,189.68
PGM	Platina Resources	-8	-1	25	20	0.066	$ 29,972,381.60
SGQ	St George Min	-9	4	-20	-32	0.071	$ 40,654,174.65
PLS	Pilbara Min	-9	-8	113	598	2.08	$ 6,282,389,403.62
CHN	Chalice Mining	-9	1	45	178	6.83	$ 2,474,096,641.80
BSX	Blackstone	-10	1	8	13	0.47	$ 158,285,290.25
CHR	Charger Metals	-10	-10			0.515	$ 16,656,138.20
BEM	Blackearth Minerals	-10	12	0	278	0.14	$ 30,435,337.38
ESS	Essential Metals	-10	22	100	110	0.22	$ 52,276,394.28
CXO	Core Lithium	-10	20	90	894	0.4075	$ 642,382,620.12
VML	Vital Metals Limited	-10	-14	-13	140	0.06	$ 245,763,501.96
ESR	Estrella Res	-10	-1	-36	196	0.0385	$ 45,319,705.86
RFR	Rafaella Resources	-11	10	-23	6	0.085	$ 16,785,332.78
LPD	Lepidico	-11	39	0	257	0.025	$ 153,804,157.45
POS	Poseidon Nick	-11	-15	72	88	0.098	$ 306,395,952.60
NIC	Nickel Mines Limited	-11	-5	-28	45	0.97	$ 2,389,277,598.45
EMH	European Metals Hldg	-12	-17	-14	211	1.415	$ 184,730,590.30
VUL	Vulcan Energy	-12	-6	115	1185	13.36	$ 1,645,198,242.49
JRL	Jindalee Resources	-12	-36	41	430	2.33	$ 125,712,740.78
RXL	Rox Resources	-13	-5	-41	-56	0.36	$ 59,102,855.25
ADV	Ardiden	-13	8	-32	-48	0.013	$ 25,792,250.59
DEV	Devex Resources	-13	44	55	20	0.325	$ 101,585,209.11
ADD	Adavale Resource	-14	19	42	127	0.068	$ 20,157,058.95
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	-15	0	-31	-27	0.011	$ 7,329,985.53
AZS	Azure Minerals	-15	-26	-14	71	0.3	$ 100,501,609.33
NKL	Nickelx	-16	-17			0.19	$ 10,967,500.00
CNJ	Conico	-17	-27	49	225	0.052	$ 53,011,388.32

Small Cap Standouts

HANNANS (ASX:HNR)

This nickel explorer is up ~240% since moving into lithium-ion battery recycling earlier this month.

Hannans, with tech developed by majority shareholder Neometals (ASX:NMT), wants to recover high purity metals from scrap and spent batteries in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland – the region with the highest electric vehicle (EV) penetration rates in the world.

Subject to securing a feedstock source, Hannans’ decision on Stage 1 plant locations is expected 1st Quarter next year.

PEPINNINI MINERALS (ASX:PNN)

In a poorly worded announcement, it appears a pretty boring deal has been struck for heavyweight lithium producer Ganfeng to run a brine pipeline through PNN’s ‘Santa Ines’ copper gold project in Argentina.

Punters saw ‘Ganfeng’ and lithium’ and went crazy, but this has nothing to do with lithium for PNN.

Santa Ines is in the same rocks as BHP’s (ASX:BHP) world-class Escondida copper-gold mine in Chile, 80km away, PNN says.

While the announcement does not mention compensation, the agreement will see PNN and Ganfeng jointly pay for an Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey on 11km of the proposed pipeline area within Santa Ines.

For PNN, it will be an exploration tool to find copper-gold targets for drill testing.

It will also give Ganfeng reassurance that the pipeline trace will not require relocation in the event of a mineral discovery.

ARAFURA RESOURCES (ASX:ARU)

Some exciting news for the rare earths project developer on Monday:

“We have engagement with European manufacturers to directly supply them with material,” Arafura Resources Chief Financial Officer Peter Sherrington said in an interview with @ElisBehrmann from @BloombergTV #ASX #ARU https://t.co/lvbF9OqJvZ

— Arafura Resources (@ARULtd) September 23, 2021

Arafura is targeting final investment decision at the “shovel ready” Nolans NdPr rare earths project in the NT by the second half of 2022 to meet growing demand from the battery sector.

First projection will ideally follow in late 2024, the company says.

AVZ MINERALS (ASX:AVZ)

The +$1bn market cap lithium hopeful led the mid-cap winners on Monday after securing a “cornerstone investor” for its Manono development in the DRC.

Private Chinese company CATH will pay US$240 million cash for an initial 24% equity stake in the project.

“Proceeds from the transaction will fund a majority of the total project financing required, whilst AVZ will retain a controlling 51% interest in the Manono Project post-completion of the transaction and its position as lead developer of the Manono Project,” the company says.

IMPACT MINERALS (ASX:IPT)

Soil sampling has dialled in on 11 nickel-copper-PGM and 11 lithium targets at Impact’s Arkun project in WA.

The Arkun project is very poorly explored, with no drilling and no previous lithium exploration at all.

“To have identified 11 targets for nickel-copper-PGM is exciting enough in its own right — but recognising the potential for lithium pegmatites over a very large area is also a significant breakthrough for Impact,” managing director Dr Mike Jones says.

Based on the strength and scale of these new anomalies, Jones is confident that further work at Arkun “will generate numerous targets for drill testing early in 2022”.