Maxwell Technologies: A Stock Pick for Solar, Wind and Hybrid Lovers

All of the movement toward renewable energy and slicing carbon output represents a profitable opportunity for investors. One Green stock I particularly like because it has a dominant position is a product that is used in solar and wind power systems as well as hybrid vehicles.

It’s Maxwell Technologies (MXWL), a San Diego company that has a long history of providing R&D services to the U.S. military and NASA.

The product is an ultracapacitor, a handy little electronic device that stores and releases electric energy. The difference between ultracapacitors and batteries is that batteries actually generate power through chemical reactions. Ultracapacitors simply store and release energy electrostatically and thus can be 10 times lighter than batteries and store and distribute energy 10 times more efficiently than batteries without the chemicals that present such as safety and disposal hazard with batteries.

Maxwell markets its ultracaps as Boostcaps, which are the fastest in the business thanks to the patented way they’re pieced together.

Ultracaps are ideal for two applications, one of which is wind. Because wind speed varies, turbines have trouble maintaining a steady voltage flow. Ultracapacitors store and discharge energy and help send out more level electrical flows.

Since 2004, Maxwell has sold over two million units to the wind industry, but almost all to one customer, a German turbine company called InterCon. Recently, however, Maxwell purchased a license to InterCon’s current-leveling patent so it can sell the ultracapacitors to other customers. Companies in the U.S. and China have since started using Maxwell’s licensed offering.

The other application is in hybrid vehicles. Maxwell’s Boostcaps are currently used in New York City, Chicago and Long Beach, California, on public buses, capturing energy from braking and then redistributing it to accelerate the buses up to 30 MPH without engaging the combustion engine. The end result is that buses have 90% fewer emissions and are 25% more fuel-efficient.

Companies in China and Germany are now starting to put Maxwell systems in their buses as well. In fact, on April 22, Maxwell received purchase orders from three of China’s leading bus producers for Boostcap ultracapacitor modules; by the end of 2009, nearly 1,000 buses should be using Boostcaps. Maxwell has also inked a deal with hybrid truck maker ISE to provide ultracaps for future vehicles and the company is now looking to get into Detroit’s next generation of electric and hybrid cars.

Boostcaps are powering Maxwell’s results and its stock.

Disclosure: No position

Comments

[User 74006:]

The real story about MXWL is going to be the the stop/go technology in the future cars. Regenerating brake system which use ultracaps. This technology will be used starting as soon as the 2011 models and the first orders will start coming in this year. This could generate huge profits for Maxwell.

Jul 22 12:18 PM

[33Nick:]

We believe ultracapacitors will play a big part of hybrids, HEV and pure electric vehicles, EV. We test drove AFS Trinity's famous XH-150 and were impressed at how well both lithium batteries and ultracapacitors blended well together.

Great article.

The Electricnick.com team.

Jul 22 12:24 PM

[ari5000:]

way to ignore the balance sheet.


Lots of wonderful technologies out there....

MXWL is not profitable, hasn't been profitable, may not be in the future...

If this article came out when MXWL was trading at 4.90 - it'd be interesting. Past is past. What are investors getting for their money at $14/share? With no profits and a book value under $3/share -- an article like this is most likely leading new investors off a cliff -- unless you've got numbers to back up justifying today's price.

Jul 22 01:51 PM

[Chris V:]

There's been some action with Zenn/EEstor as well, lately. Zenn is a Canadian electric car manufacturer, and owns a 10.7% stake in EEstor, a stealth-mode start-up capacitor manufacturer which is supposedly close to making a big announcement. In the past couple days, there has been an interview with the CEO of Zenn here: gm-volt.com/2009/07/20.../
...and an apparently leaked interview with the CEO of EEstor here: video.yahoo.com/search...
Also, lots of discussion of it all here: theeestory.com/

Short version: Either we have a disruptive technology coming very soon now, or we have a very strange scam on our hands.

Disclosure: long ZNNMF

Jul 22 02:00 PM

[Alan Young:]

@ Ari: In principle, I agree with your observation. However, you could have made the same complaint about profitability when the stock traded for $4, and missed a triple. Heck, that's just what I did...


On Jul 22 01:51 PM ari5000 wrote:

> way to ignore the balance sheet.
>
>
> Lots of wonderful technologies out there....
>
> MXWL is not profitable, hasn't been profitable, may not be in the
> future...
>
> If this article came out when MXWL was trading at 4.90 - it'd be
> interesting. Past is past. What are investors getting for their
> money at $14/share? With no profits and a book value under $3/share
> -- an article like this is most likely leading new investors off
> a cliff -- unless you've got numbers to back up justifying today's
> price.

Jul 22 05:48 PM

[James Levy:]

I show Maxwell reducing losses quarter by quarter, and analysts estimating positive returns from 1st quarter 2010 onwards. The author makes a qualitative argument based on a Maxwell´s grip on a hot new technology, and the the article makes a valuable contribution. There is plenty of upside still in Maxwell, even for those who enter at today´s price, given its $319 million market cap. A purchase by GE or an Asian manufacturer could easily be at double this price if its utracapacitors continue to find expanding markets. Not many companies showing ¨top line¨ growth these days...

Thanks for the article Brendan, nice work on a stock which will be in the news in the months and years to come. This is a microcap with legs!

Jul 23 06:42 AM

[William Taylor:]

Chris V is spot on. Zenn/EESTOR will either make investors filthy rich or mad that they they have been conned. If EESTOR works any ZENN stockholder will be in the chips....and time will tell in less than a year!
I am long Zenn too but I only recommend you buy with money you can afford to lose.


On Jul 22 02:00 PM Chris V wrote:

> There's been some action with Zenn/EEstor as well, lately. Zenn is
> a Canadian electric car manufacturer, and owns a 10.7% stake in EEstor,
> a stealth-mode start-up capacitor manufacturer which is supposedly
> close to making a big announcement. In the past couple days, there
> has been an interview with the CEO of Zenn here: gm-volt.com/2009/07/20.../
>
> ...and an apparently leaked interview with the CEO of EEstor here:
> video.yahoo.com/search...
> Also, lots of discussion of it all here: theeestory.com/<;br/>
>
> Short version: Either we have a disruptive technology coming very
> soon now, or we have a very strange scam on our hands.
>
> Disclosure: long ZNNMF

Jul 23 08:55 AM

[jerrydd:]

On ultracaps Maxwell is hyping them way beyond their worth.
Batteries will do what they say Ultracaps will at 1/00th the cosat. They are heavier, more costly and take up too much room for the pitiful capacity they hold.
'
And no has bothered to mention the electronics needed to use the little cap they have as their voltage goes to zero vs many batteries that only drop 20% or so on heavy discharges. This will increase a ultracap system by 50%.

If you want to lose money Maxwell is a great way to do it.

Jul 23 09:59 AM

[jerrydd:]

As far as I can tell from EEstor's tech descriptions it's a battery they are trying to pawn off as a Ultracap for some reason. That alone makes me wonder.

Zenn makes a nice but almost useless EV because it's an NEV which can't legally cross a over 35mph road plus it's way too expensive, 2-3x's too much. Not good bets in my book.

I build custom EV's and always looking for good new tech but I've found too much hype and little substance so check out your investments well before you put your money down.

Good batteries are A123, LG, BYD, Kokam. .

Jul 23 10:11 AM