February 4th, 2026 | 07:40 CET
Breaking news! This innovation is transforming the battery industry – What it means for NEO Battery Materials, DroneShield, and BYD
Artificial intelligence, electromobility, and drones are some of the topics that are highly favoured by investors. However, one crucial link in the chain is too often neglected: powerful, flexible battery solutions from Western industrialized countries. China's dominance must be broken as quickly as possible. With a new generation of cells, NEO Battery Materials could now shake up the market. The potential is huge, but this is not yet reflected in the market capitalization of around CAD 100 million.
time to read: 3 minutes
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Author:
Carsten Mainitz
ISIN:
NEO BATTERY MATERIALS LTD | CA62908A1003 , DRONESHIELD LTD | AU000000DRO2 , BYD CO. LTD H YC 1 | CNE100000296
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"[...] Boron is one of the most versatile elements in the whole world! Everyone reading this text regularly uses hundreds of products that depend on boron. [...]" Tim Daniels, CEO, Erin Ventures
Author
Carsten Mainitz
The native Rhineland-Palatinate has been a passionate market participant for more than 25 years. After studying business administration in Mannheim, he worked as a journalist, in equity sales and many years in equity research.
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NEO Battery Materials – Ahead of the competition
The Canadian company recently announced a technological breakthrough that could significantly change the drone and UAV industry. The newly developed NBM Drone Cells have superior properties. The innovative product delivers 50% more capacity and 40% higher energy density than the drone batteries currently in commercial use, while being the same size.
The bottom line is longer flight times and higher payloads without changing the platform. This puts the Canadians ahead of their Chinese competitors. A live field test will be conducted in early February to confirm the recently announced figures. After that, the way will be clear for series production.
The company has already reported on many groundbreaking orders and partnerships in the past. Particularly noteworthy are the strategic collaborations with Fortune 500 OEMs and defense-related institutions such as the Korea Institute for Defense Industry (KOIDI). KOIDI can serve as a door opener for significant growth in the defense industry as well as other industries in the future.
Technologically, NEO Battery Materials focuses on silicon-reinforced anodes. The proprietary approach offers higher energy densities, shorter charging times, and significant cost advantages. The transition from the classic lithium-ion cell to performance-optimized silicon architecture would be tantamount to an industrial revolution. According to expert estimates, the market for silicon-enhanced lithium-ion batteries will grow exponentially from currently less than USD 5 billion to around USD 30 billion by 2032.
The Canadian company's strategic growth model is also convincing. It is based on the foundry model established in the semiconductor industry: design and production are separated and handled by different parties. For the battery market, this could mean that OEMs from the automotive, drone, robotics, and defense industries, which urgently need specialized batteries but are wary of the high investment costs, will now place their orders with NEO. This is because the existing mass market for standard cells from China, which accounts for around 80% of global production, cannot deliver the desired properties. In addition, the region poses a major supply chain risk.
To further finance future growth, the Canadians completed a CAD 7 million capital increase last month. Currently, the company is valued at around CAD 101 million with a share price of CAD 0.66 and 153.4 million shares outstanding.
DroneShield – Sporty valuation
The defense and security company specializes in anti-drone technologies and related electronic defense systems. The Australians develop and distribute systems for detecting, tracking, and neutralizing unmanned aerial systems. The solutions are used in both military and civilian applications.
In recent months, there has been a real hype surrounding the stock. Geopolitical tensions and AI were the ingredients for the spectacular and highly volatile price performance. The stock is currently valued at AUD 3.2 billion (approximately EUR 1.9 billion) at a share price of AUD 3.72. Given the forecast revenues of AUD 217 million and AUD 312 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively, this is an ambitious valuation. Massive insider sales in the past and the sluggish chart picture currently point to rather challenging times ahead.
BYD – Easing of the customs dispute?
BYD is one of the world's largest manufacturers of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The group also develops solar and energy storage solutions that, in combination with vehicle and battery systems, form sustainable energy storage systems. The Chinese company is valued at the equivalent of EUR 94 billion. The 2026 P/E ratio is a moderate 15. Analysts believe the stock has upside potential of a good 40% over the next 12 months.
As domestic competition has intensified significantly because emerging suppliers are seeking to gain market share with massive price discounts, BYD is pushing for growth abroad. According to a recent report by the major Swiss bank UBS, new EU customs rules could potentially boost Chinese automobile exports. Experts point out that the EU and China are close to reaching an agreement on a minimum sales price, which would eliminate customs duties of 17 to 35% on automobile imports from China.
NEO Battery Materials made a big splash with its latest results. The Canadians are leaving their Chinese competitors behind with their NBM Drone Cells. A live field test will take place soon, which should pave the way for series production. This milestone could quickly take the stock to a much higher level. In terms of valuation and chart analysis, the situation at DroneShield is somewhat tense. An agreement on EU tariffs would give Chinese car manufacturers such as BYD a significant boost.
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