NIO, dynaCERT, Nordex - Different omens

dynaCERT - Sales pick up significantly

A final spurt in incoming orders helped the Canadian cleantech company dynaCERT to a conciliatory end to the year. Shortly before the Christmas vacation, a total of 137 confirmed orders were reported, with as many as 112 still leaving the warehouse in 2022. In comparison, only 9 HydraGEN units were sold in the third quarter.

The new year will likely be exciting as Canadians wait for a final "go" on carbon trading. According to dynaCERT CEO Jim Payne, the Company is in the final stages of Verra's Verified Carbon Standard - the most widely used greenhouse gas crediting program globally. As a final step, Verra contracted with Earthood, an approved validator, to provide services related to method validation in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement and VCS regulations. Currently, Verra, Earthood and dynaCERT are in the process of finalizing the VCS process so that dynaCERT's carbon credits achieve Verra's Verified Carbon Standard.

Final approval would open up a new recurring revenue stream for dynaCERT. That is because by managing carbon credits for its HydraGEN customers, its business model is based on sharing the revenue generated by the sale of carbon credits. In addition, the Company intends to generate up to CAD 10 million in the form of a carbon credit convertible bond. This is of particular interest to companies that need to offset their greenhouse gases in order to meet their ESG requirements. Oil and gas producers, but also mining and transportation companies, come into question here.

Nordex - Declining order situation

In the recent past, the sharply declining margins were the main problem for the wind turbine manufacturer. In contrast, the order books were well-filled. Now the Hamburg-based company reported a significant decline in total output for 2022. Compared to 7.95 gigawatts in 2021, it was only 6.33 gigawatts in the full year 2022, which has just ended.

In the final quarter alone, 386 wind turbines with a total capacity of 1.9 gigawatts were added. Here, too, there was a drastic decline compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. At that time, there were still 678 turbines with a total output of 3.3 gigawatts. On the positive side, at least the average selling price was EUR 0.89 million per MW, significantly higher than the EUR 0.74 million per MW in the same quarter last year.

"As expected, we recorded strong order momentum in the fourth quarter at higher turbine prices than in the previous year. In addition to numerous orders from markets where Nordex already has an established presence, I am pleased that we could again convince customers in Canada after several years. In particular, our high-performance turbine types from the 5 MW class and our new 6 MW class met with brisk demand," says José Luis Blanco, CEO of the Nordex Group.

Regarding the final annual figures and the publication of the annual financial report, investors should note March 28, 2023. Here, the recently weakening margins, in particular, should come to the fore. If these continue to develop negatively, a sustainable recovery will likely be over.

NIO - Significant increase in sales

The business model of the Chinese electric car manufacturer is unique. NIO offers its customers a Battery-as-a-Service system in a subscription model. In this way, the customer is merely a tenant of the energy source. The advantages here for the buyer are that the purchase price is significantly lower compared to other providers. The December figures again show that this model's proof of concept is successful. Thus, in the closing month of 2022, a new record was set with 15,815 units. Compared to the previous year, this represented an increase of 50.8%.

In total, NIO sold 122,486 vehicles in the full year 2022 and increased its deliveries by 34.0%. In the fourth quarter alone, sales increased by 60% to 40,052 electric cars.

NIO also achieved a milestone with 50,000 battery replacement services in one day. A chart shared by the electric vehicle manufacturer shows that 45,494 battery swap services were offered on January 13, 51,040 on January 14 and 55,481 on January 15. From January 13 to February 5, all NIO battery swap stations along highways will be open to vehicle owners for free and unlimited use. CnEVPost said that as of January 16, 2023, the Company has 1,311 battery exchange stations in China, of which 348 are located along highways. In addition, NIO owns over 2,307 charging stations with 13,560 charging spots in the world's second-largest economy.

While dynaCERT saw a strong improvement in orders in 2022, wind turbine manufacturer Nordex suffered significant declines. At NIO, business continues to boom, and the Battery-as-a-Service model is also proving very popular.