Evolution Energy joins the European Battery Alliance

Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX: EV1) has been accepted into the European Battery Alliance (EBA), which brings together more than 700 industrial and innovation players, with the goal to create a competitive and sustainable battery industry in Europe over the next five years.

The company's stock rallied 7% as the market opened.

"Acceptance into the EBA is an important step as we progress our battery anode material strategy as it will support the development of relationships with key players, including financiers and customers," Managing Director Phil Hoskins said in a statement.

All aboard the battery train

Notable ASX-listed companies within the EBA include Core Lithium (ASX: CXO), Renascor Resources (ASX: RNU) and Argosy Minerals (ASX: AGY). 

The valuation for the three stocks has ballooned well over 100% in the last 12-months as investors jump on board the renewable transition narrative.

The boom for electric vehicles and transition towards renewable energy solutions has pushed up prices for critical metals including lithium, graphite, nickel and cobalt to multi-year, if not all-time highs.  

Graphite: A backbone for sustainable energy  

Graphite is an underappreciated battery material amid a local market dominated by lithium names. 

As the world is rapidly moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, graphite underpins it all. 

Graphite is composed of layered sheets of carbon atoms, with an uncanny ability to conduct and transmit electricity. This is why graphite makes up more than 95% of the anode material inside commercially available batteries.

Source: EV1 Presentation - Sustainable Graphite for the Green Economy

Evolution Energy is one of the newest local listings in the graphite space. The company aims to produce downstream (refined/finished) products from its Chilalo Project in Tanzania.

Based off Chilalo's January 2020 Definitive Feasibility Study, the project has a net present value of $323m compared to the company's current market cap of $50m.

A final investment decision for the project is expected to be made in the second-half of 2022.