Breakthrough for the e-truck? Daimler Truck, Siemens Healthineers, Almonty Industries

Daimler Truck: E-truck becomes a beacon of hope

The truck manufacturer Daimler Truck is currently still scoring points with the diesel versions of its Actros trucks. In the first quarter, about 15,000 vehicles were newly registered on German roads. What many people do not know is that Daimler Trucks has also been offering battery-powered trucks for years. However, these are selling rather poorly. With the eActros 600, which will be ready for series production in 2024, this is now set to change. Despite a higher purchase price, Daimler Trucks promises favourable operation and maintenance costs, so the model should become the most economical in Daimler Truck's portfolio for long-distance routes. Some major customers have already announced their intention to buy the eActros 600, which is supposed to have a capacity of 600 kWh.

Medium-sized companies are still sceptical, but Daimler Truck expects the eActros 600 to succeed. With its lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP), it is expected to serve for a good 10 years or 1.2 million km. The battery, which is supplied by the Chinese company CATL, is said to be able to be charged from 20% to 80% within 30 minutes - just the right amount of time to make trucks ready to drive again within the breaks that are prescribed anyway. The Daimler Truck share has developed positively in the last few months, but the big momentum failed to materialize. Over a period of 3 years, the Company has only made a profit of just under 15%. However, if the Company takes off with its alternative drive systems, which are to include fuel cells in the medium term, the share of the truck manufacturer could also gain new momentum.

Siemens Healthineers: Is the cost pressure easing?

The Siemens Healthineers share is also currently enjoying a tailwind. However, this is primarily due to the share buyback program. In the past 3 months, the Company bought about 4.47 million of its own shares on the market. Operationally, Siemens Healthineers' business continues to be characterized by staff shortages and supply bottlenecks. Nevertheless, the medical technology sector managed to grow by 5.4% last year. However, the earnings situation was somewhat more complicated - costs got out of hand, especially in 2022. That inflation is currently on the right track again was recently shown by wholesale prices, which, in May, were about 2.6% below the previous year's level. The last time there was such a significant decline was in the summer of 2020, so for companies like Siemens Healthineers, the period of greatest cost pressure could soon be over. Beyond the EUR 56 mark, the share price could rise again more significantly in the long term.

Almonty Industries: Tungsten - versatile and rare

A company that can be of great importance for both the automotive industry and healthcare providers is Almonty Industries. The Canadians have been focusing on the mining of tungsten for years. What we all know from filaments in classic light bulbs is now also found in medical devices or in rechargeable batteries. The steel industry also depends on tungsten and uses the element's heat resistance. Tungsten has always been considered particularly difficult to mine. Teams working in mines often pass on their knowledge from generation to generation. In addition to existing mines in Portugal and Spain, Almonty Industries is currently developing the Sangdong mine. This project dwarfs everything else and is considered one of the largest tungsten deposits in the world. Construction work is currently underway to bring the mine into production.

Almonty CEO Lewis Black sees the South Korean Sangdong project as on track: "We have made solid progress at the Sangdong tungsten project in May 2023. The arrival of the Pebble Crusher and Primary Jaw Crusher means we now have 100% of the equipment for the Ball mill and SAG mill on-site and shows that construction of our flagship project continues to progress well, as we look to complete construction by the end of the 2023 financial year and commission the project in the first half of 2024," says Black, referring to the goal of making the project particularly environmentally sustainable. Coupled with the tungsten's origins in stable and reliable South Korea, the raw materials will likely be in demand in the market. Market analysts at Straits Research expect the tungsten market to grow by 7.8% annually between 2022 and 2031. Given the complexity of tungsten mining, the market position of Almonty, which is financed by Germany's Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), among others, should be stable.

At a time when new markets are emerging for many industrial companies, investors can also look for opportunities along the value chain. Both batteries for electrically powered vehicles and devices for medical technology can contain tungsten. In some cases, it even offers great advantages. In the field of battery technology, for example, it presents the opportunity to do without cobalt. The Almonty Industries share is speculative but equally rich in opportunity. The Company is in an exciting phase.