Close menu




March 2nd, 2021 | 10:11 CET

BYD, Rock Tech Lithium, Xiaomi - Licensed to print money!

  • Lithium
Photo credits: pixabay.com

The triumph of electric cars continues unabated, with new players constantly entering the market. The era of fossil vehicles seems to be over. What is overlooked is that the significantly increasing demand can hardly be met in the future due to the lack of raw materials. The demand for lithium batteries is enormous. One Company is now planning a major coup and wants to become the first and most important producer in Europe. The signs are good. If the plan succeeds, a new unicorn will be born.

time to read: 3 minutes | Author: Stefan Feulner
ISIN: CNE100000296 , CA77273P2017 , KYG9830T1067

Table of contents:


    Rock Tech Lithium - The breakthrough!

    Little has happened in the lithium market in recent years. Neither investments flowed into the industry, nor did prices rise, although the age of electromobility had long since begun. Only China has been positioning itself for some time to secure its supply of battery-grade lithium. Due to the exploding sales figures of electric car manufacturers, lithium demand will significantly exceed supply by 2022 at the latest. Massive bottlenecks are imminent, and calls for lithium producers ex-China are becoming louder and louder. The Canadian Company Rock Tech Lithium, which German Chairman Dirk Harbecke leads, is now planning the big coup and wants to become a pioneer in Europe. With tailwind from a capital increase placed in January, in which among others the prominent serial founder Peter Thiel took 5% from the Company plus an option of another 5%, wants to secure the lithium supply of the German automotive industry in the future.

    Rock Tech Lithium could serve the entire value chain. The Company's own lithium sulfate mine in Ontario, Canada, can now be brought into production thanks to the successful capital increase. The mined raw material is then to be processed into lithium sulfate in Canada. This concentrate will then be further processed into lithium hydroxide in a converter, which will then be the first in Europe. This process will help to minimize transport costs and environmental impact. According to the Company's management, the first converter will produce around 24,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per year, which corresponds to a supply of approximately 500,000 cars.

    The possible location is said to be Saxony-Anhalt, not far from Tesla's Gigafactory in Grünheide and BASF's new cathode plant in Schwarzheide. If the Company succeeds in producing 24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year, sales would be around EUR 250 million. According to management, profit from the value chain, i.e., mining activities plus operation of the converter, would be at least EUR 40 million after taxes. If these figures come anywhere near, the stock will face a revaluation.

    Volkswagen - With pressure to the top

    Even if many investors speculate on cooperation with the US carmaker Tesla through the long-standing connection between Elon Musk and Rock Tech shareholder Peter Thiel, a purely German joint venture with the Volkswagen Group is evident. The German flagship Group is massively pushing its investments in electromobility. VW plans to invest a total of EUR 33 billion in electromobility by 2024. In addition to the costs of converting existing plants and setting up its production of battery cells, considerable funds are flowing into research and development.

    Electric cars are expected to account for up to 8% of sales as early as 2021. That would mean sales of just under 750,000 electric vehicles. Along the way, Tesla would have been overtaken as the world market leader on the right. Volkswagen's market capitalization is currently EUR 35.98 billion. Competitor Tesla weighs in at EUR 546.99 billion, which is more than fifteen times its stock market value.

    Xiaomi - Cobbler, stick to your trade!

    The sales figures for electric vehicles are also continuing to rise in China. The Han model produced by BYD performed particularly strongly in January. Sales of a total of 19,871 BYD models are 183% better than in the same period last year. The majority of BYD plug-in car sales are accounted for by the Han model with 12,103 units, including 9,298 fully electric and 2,805 plug-in hybrid models.

    In contrast, there was a denial of building its electric car from electronics manufacturer Xiaomi. For a long time, there have been speculations that Xiaomi wants to produce its own electric vehicle. Thus, they tried to compete directly with the US giant Apple. The Company headquarters have now denied this. Xiaomi rose to become the number three best-selling smartphone in the world last year.


    Conflict of interest

    Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") may in the future hold shares or other financial instruments of the mentioned companies or will bet on rising or falling on rising or falling prices and therefore a conflict of interest may arise in the future. conflict of interest may arise in the future. The Relevant Persons reserve the shares or other financial instruments of the company at any time (hereinafter referred to as the company at any time (hereinafter referred to as a "Transaction"). "Transaction"). Transactions may under certain circumstances influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the of the Company.

    Furthermore, Apaton Finance GmbH reserves the right to enter into future relationships with the company or with third parties in relation to reports on the company. with regard to reports on the company, which are published within the scope of the Apaton Finance GmbH as well as in the social media, on partner sites or in e-mails, on partner sites or in e-mails. The above references to existing conflicts of interest apply apply to all types and forms of publication used by Apaton Finance GmbH uses for publications on companies.

    Risk notice

    Apaton Finance GmbH offers editors, agencies and companies the opportunity to publish commentaries, interviews, summaries, news and etc. on news.financial. These contents serve information for readers and does not constitute a call to action or recommendations, neither explicitly nor implicitly. implicitly, they are to be understood as an assurance of possible price be understood. The contents do not replace individual professional investment advice and do not constitute an offer to sell the share(s) offer to sell the share(s) or other financial instrument(s) in question, nor is it an nor an invitation to buy or sell such.

    The content is expressly not a financial analysis, but rather financial analysis, but rather journalistic or advertising texts. Readers or users who make investment decisions or carry out transactions on the basis decisions or transactions on the basis of the information provided here act completely at their own risk. There is no contractual relationship between between Apaton Finance GmbH and its readers or the users of its offers. users of its offers, as our information only refers to the company and not to the company, but not to the investment decision of the reader or user. or user.

    The acquisition of financial instruments entails high risks that can lead to the total loss of the capital invested. The information published by Apaton Finance GmbH and its authors are based on careful research on careful research, nevertheless no liability for financial losses financial losses or a content guarantee for topicality, correctness, adequacy and completeness of the contents offered here. contents offered here. Please also note our Terms of use.


    Der Autor

    Stefan Feulner

    The native Franconian has more than 20 years of stock exchange experience and a broadly diversified network.
    He is passionate about analyzing a wide variety of business models and investigating new trends.

    About the author



    Related comments:

    Commented by Armin Schulz on August 18th, 2026 | 07:30 CEST

    Almonty Industries, Freeport McMoRan, and Albemarle: Commodity Fever Rises Due to Structural Shortages

    • Tungsten
    • CriticalMetals
    • Commodities
    • Lithium
    • Copper

    A major storm is brewing in the commodity markets. It is being driven by the transition to climate-neutral energy, extremely high demand for artificial intelligence and the computing power it requires, and global geopolitical conflicts. This wave does not appear to be a temporary flare-up, but rather the beginning of a long-term megatrend, as supply deficits continue to widen. While spikes in demand often provided the boost in previous commodity cycles, this time it is global supply chain risks and decades of underinvestment in the development of new commodity projects. Today, we take a closer look at tungsten producer Almonty Industries, copper producer Freeport McMoRan, and lithium producer Albemarle.

    Read

    Commented by Fabian Lorenz on August 12th, 2026 | 07:10 CEST

    Standard Lithium Surges! Nordex Lands Major Order – Copper Rally and News Flow Drive Power Metallic Mines

    • PGMs
    • Copper
    • Lithium
    • renewableenergy

    Standard Lithium's share price has surged. Investors reacted positively to the update from the US lithium hopeful. According to the update, the company has met key prerequisites for the planned development of the South West Arkansas Project (SWA). Was the 20% rally in Power Metallic Mines just the beginning? The odds are good that it was. Analysts foresee significantly higher prices. Additionally, the copper rally is providing a boost, and important news is on the horizon. The high copper price should actually be causing problems for the wind energy industry. Yet there is currently no sign of that, as Nordex's latest major order demonstrates. The stock is currently taking a breather. Nevertheless, its year-to-date performance stands at over 25%.

    Read

    Commented by Nico Popp on July 17th, 2026 | 07:30 CEST

    The End of the Auto Industry Looms: Will Mercedes-Benz & Co. Find a Way Out? BYD as a Role Model, Rock Tech Lithium as a Problem-Solver

    • Lithium
    • Batteries
    • BatteryMetals
    • Automotive
    • Electromobility

    The auto industry is in the midst of a deep crisis, as evidenced not only by the news from Volkswagen. The availability of battery raw materials has become a critical factor for automakers. According to a survey by industry experts at Benchmark Minerals, global demand for lithium-ion batteries rose by 29% in 2025 to a total of 1.59 terawatt-hours. While stationary battery storage was the fastest-growing segment, the electric vehicle sector remains the dominant driver of demand in terms of volume. This trend is intensifying global competition for critical raw materials. China is leading the way here. The country controls an estimated 85% of global battery production and processes around 70% of the world's lithium. This poses a risk for Western automakers. They need to develop their own solutions. We analyze the situation and explore a potential solution.

    Read