ICL Group Ltd. ICL has announced plans to invest $30 million in North America to establish a customer innovation and qualification center (CIQC) as part of its long-term strategy to provide commercial solutions for the energy storage systems market. As ICL intends to make substantial breakthroughs in its battery materials R&D capabilities, the CIQC is projected to become a hub for the company, its partners and customers.
ICL has created know-how through collaboration with its technology partners that will allow it to reduce cycle time by 50% while also significantly cutting power consumption in the manufacturing of lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Such advances are likely to be enhanced once the CIQC is open, with the center set to be operating prior to the company's 140,000-square-foot LFP battery materials facility, which is planned to manufacture 30,000 metric tons of LFP yearly.
The CIQC will enable ICL to accelerate its technological advancements while also aiding ICL battery materials customers as they want to develop and enhance their offers. The company is well-positioned for expansion now that it has obtained its first client agreement and is working on qualifying the requirements of additional potential customers. The first multi-year agreement entails ICL to deliver LFP battery materials for next-generation battery cell manufacture to a U.S. customer.
ICL has made strides in the battery materials business in 2023. It looks forward to meeting the growing demand from the energy storage, electric vehicle and clean-energy industries for domestically produced and sourced essential battery materials, owing to the company's investment in the first large-scale LFP battery materials manufacturing plant in the United States, as well as its customer innovation and qualification center.
Shares of ICL have lost 31.6% over the past year compared with a 19.5% decline of its industry.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
ICL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Denison Mines Corp. DNN, Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. AXTA and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN.
Denison Mines has a projected earnings growth rate of 100% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). DNN delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 225%, on average. The stock is up around 50% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Axalta has a projected earnings growth rate of 5.4% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. AXTA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.7%, on average. The stock is up around 33.8% in a year.
Hawkins has a projected earnings growth rate of 21% for the current year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Hawkins delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 27.5%, on average. HWKN shares are up around 81.7% in a year.
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