E-car skepticism and charging station farce: BMW, BYD, dynaCERT

BMW: Charging stations throughout Europe, even in remote regions?

The disparity between aspiration and reality in electromobility is evident, as demonstrated by the farce surrounding the mere eighty charging stations at the West Trade Fair parking garage during this year's IAA Mobility automotive exhibition - significantly more charging stations would be needed to meet demand. Even BMW CEO Zipse recently expressed skepticism as to whether we will be able to power all e-vehicles even in remote regions of Europe by the mid-2030s. While the European auto industry still seems to be struggling with the phase-out of the internal combustion engine, the Chinese are pulling away, at least in the world's most important car market, with electric vehicles. BYD, in particular, is now considered the top dog and is increasingly pushing into the European market.

At this year's IAA, the Chinese presence will be greater than ever before. As Handelsblatt recently wrote, the Chinese are not only successful in the exhibition halls: the Chinese brand MG sold 57,000 vehicles in Europe in the first seven months of the year - that is more than Skoda and Seat combined. The growth drivers are e-vehicles, of which there are already more than combustion vehicles in some Chinese cities. Thanks to advanced technology and competitive pricing, BYD, XPeng, Geely and Co. are outpacing the competition from VW, Mercedes and BMW. While European manufacturers are countering this trend and announcing their own innovation offensives, competing with the powerful Chinese manufacturers in their home market will be difficult.

BYD: Success planned for the long term

However, there is much to suggest that dominance in the world's largest submarket is a crucial key to taking off internationally as well. Economies of scale are also likely to play a significant role for automakers. The supply of raw materials is also crucial. BMW CEO Zipse sees the success of BYD and Co. as the result of a long-term planned strategy that encompasses the entire value chain of electric vehicles - from battery raw materials to the finished vehicle. European manufacturers are at a disadvantage in this regard due to a lack of government support.

dynaCERT: Heavy machinery and hydrogen as a beacon of hope

Given the problems expressed by industry representatives, investors should not disregard alternatives to electric vehicles. While the pendulum seems to have finally swung in the direction of electromobility, at least for passenger vehicles, there are still millions of internal combustion engine vehicles on our roads. The Canadian company dynaCERT has spent years trying to make the many diesel engines more climate-friendly. Its core product is HydraGEN, a conversion kit that uses hydrogen to help reduce diesel engine fuel consumption and emissions by up to 19%. After not achieving significant sales success in recent years, dynaCERT has shifted its focus more strongly on the business-to-business customers. Here, HydraGEN now seems to be gaining traction - already last year, there were some orders from mining companies who are retrofitting their heavy and expensive machinery. In parallel, dynaCERT has also entered the hydrogen production business with its partner Cipher Neutron.**

Here, too, the success stories have been mounting in recent weeks. Both companies recently announced their collaboration with the raw materials company Strategic Resources. The goal is to equip one of the company's processing plants with electrolysers. "After many years of due diligence and negotiations on the BlackRock project, dynaCERT is very pleased to congratulate its partner, Cipher Neutron, and Strategic Resources on the completion of their collaboration agreement to study the implementation of CN's AEM electrolysers for Strategic Resources. The province of Quebec and Hydro Quebec are a particularly suitable area for the deployment of Cipher Neutron's green hydrogen technology, given the abundance of green electricity in the region," commented Jean-Pierre Colin, VP at dynaCERT, on the collaboration.

Despite the Company's operational progress, dynaCERT's stock has not had a hot summer - on the contrary, after an initial jump from new orders, the price gradually declined. The market is still trying to decide whether the numerous new orders will translate into strong figures. As soon as the new orders materialize, the share price will likely react. Nevertheless, the share is not for the faint of heart - dynaCERT is always good for surprises. The uncertainty of whether electromobility will be able to establish itself in all areas in the coming years opens up additional prospects for the speculative stock.