LiCo Energy Metals (LIC.V) significantly added to its brain trust when the company announced yesterday that Greg Reimer had joined the junior explorer’s advisory board.
According to the news release, Reimer is the Executive Vice-President of BC Hydro’s Transmission and Distribution Network.
Since his 2010 appointment at BC Hydro, Reimer has been responsible for the planning, design, and operation of the electric utility’s extensive transmission and distribution network in the province.
BC Hydro operates with over four million customers and generates $5.7 billion annually in revenues.
Reimer is well familiar with resources and the provincial pubic sector, having held senior leadership positions such as Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Chair of the BC Oil and Gas Commission and Deputy Minister of Provincial Revenue.
LiCo Energy Metals President and CEO, Tim Fernback, commented, “We are thrilled to have Greg join the advisory board of LiCo. He brings a substantial wealth of both corporate and “Green Energy” experience. Greg is passionate about the evolution of the global electric vehicle market and he brings a vast amount of experience to LiCo. We are looking forward to his contribution to our company as we grow.”
Reimer added, “I am very excited to have an opportunity help shape the future of an innovative energy metals company like LiCo. As renewable energy and new lithium ion battery technologies becomes mainstream, LiCo’s well-located lithium and cobalt mineral assets will become increasingly important in the global energy market.”
Reimer isn’t alone in his excitement surrounding a lithium-powered economy.
Canadians bought 11,000 EVs in 2016, more than double what they bought just two years earlier. Americans have around 30 EV models to choose from and they exercised their choice to buy 159,333 EVs in 2016 according to FleetCarma.com. That’s a 38% increase over how many were purchased in 2015.
Manufacturers are also joining the race and even though Tesla continues to propel the market, it is expected the competition will eat up that lead, giving Tesla just ~60% market share by 2022.
VW’s recently announced commitment to the EV cause outlines a plan to produce 2 to 3 million EVs from a line of 30 models by 2025 – wonderful PR for the beleaguered company and great news for EV proponents.
Incentives continue as the major force behind wide spread adoption. For instance, you can get up to $12,000 worth of incentives (until the funds run out) when buying an EV as part of the Clean Energy Vehicle Program and the B.C. SCRAP-IT Program.
As these programs come into effect and seed the industry, analysts expect global EV infrastructure to expand at a CAGR of 29.8% to 2022 reaching a worth of US$12.61 billion, finally cementing the next generation of transportation with a functional charging network.
All of this predicted to help build a global EV and PHEV battery market worth US$10.0 billion by 2020.
Cobalt is an important partner to lithium in the construction of lithium-ion batteries and even though it took a beating in the 2011 commodity down-turn, it’s maintained an upward momentum since.
In fact, a pound of cobalt now goes for approximately US$23.00, the highest it’s been since January 2010 and industry analysts expect the cobalt’s market value to continue floating above fundamentals as the second decade of this new millennium of alternative energy comes to a close.
LiCo Energy Metals is working to get on that train and the addition of Reimer to the junior’s advisory board will help give LiCo the deep industry know-how and regulatory experience it needs to drive its development programs forward.
–Gaalen Engen
http://twitter.com/gaalenengen
FULL DISCLOSURE: LiCo Energy Metals is an EQUITY.GURU client.