Two ASX lithium battery stocks have sparked their sector this morning. Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) is currently on a self-requested trading halt after announcing a capital raising in the US to further develop its lithium mines. The share price last traded at $1.055.

Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) meanwhile, rose by 3 per cent to $6.52 after announcing a partnership with British AI and blockchain company, Circulor.
 

Piedmont Lithium to raise capital in the US

Peidmont announced that it plans to offer 1.5 million of its ADS (American Depositary Shares) through a US public offering. Each ADS represents 100 ordinary shares of Piedmont, which are traded on the ASX.

The company has requested a halt on trading of its shares, after releasing a prospectus to the ASX this morning.

ADS refers to shares of a non-US company held by a US escrow bank, which gives American investors a simple way to invest in foreign companies. It’s no different from owning the underlying Piedmont shares themselves, except that investors will have to deal with fluctuating currency rates between USD and AUD.

The Piedmont ADS is already trading on the NASDAQ, under the ticker PLL. At the close last night, the PLL ADS was trading at US$81.71. The ADS price is simply calculated by multiplying the underlying Piedmont share price on the ASX by 100, which is then converted to USD to get the ADS price.

An offer price of US$78.94 has been indicated on the prospectus, representing the closing price on 19 March, but not yet confirmed.

The proceeds, calculated to be roughly US$120 million, will be used to continue the development of its Piedmont Lithium Project, including definitive feasibility studies, further drilling, and to fund the investments in the Sayona Mining Project in Quebec.

JP Morgan, as lead bookrunner, will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 225,000 ADS at the offer price.
 

Vulcan to trace carbon footprint of suppliers

Vulcan meanwhile, announced a partnership with British company Circulor, to use Circulor’s CO2 measurement solution to measure and trace carbon footprint across Vulcan’s European lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain.

Circulor offers AI and blockchain software solutions that enable customers to track raw materials through supply chains to demonstrate responsible sourcing and sustainability. It’s working with big customers like Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover.

In the agreement, Vulcan will be implementing Circulor’s technology for its future lithium supply contracts with European OEMs, to ensure they meet the company’s sustainability objectives.

This will ensure that Vulcan can commit to full traceability of its zero carbon products when productions start in 2024.

The company claims that the tracing of zero-carbon footprint across the lithium supply chain is the world’s first.

“This collaboration between Circulor and Vulcan will allow us to develop the world’s first fully traceable, transparent and zero carbon lithium product extracted and consumed in Europe,” says Dr Francis Wedin, Vulcan’s CEO.

“As well as showing Vulcan’s commitment to a transparent supply chain with net zero carbon footprint, it is another industry-leading move by Vulcan that sets the way forward for the raw materials industry to improve and align to OEMs’ goal of producing truly sustainable EVs,” he added.

Vulcan Energy is aiming to become the world’s first zero carbon producer, by producing a battery-quality lithium hydroxide chemical product with net zero carbon footprint from its lithium resource, located in the Upper Rhine Valley of Germany.

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