Vulcan Energy is taking its trademark direct lithium extraction technology beyond Europe for the first time. The company’s partner, Cosmos Exploration, has signed a master services agreement with South American engineering firm SEPCON to transport, install and commission a pilot plant in Bolivia. The facility will test Vulcan’s closed-loop VULSORB® A-DLE process on brines from the country’s salt flats, using a pilot plant acquired from a Vulcan subsidiary. The move positions the “Made in Germany” technology as a global contender for sustainable lithium production.
Back home, the narrative is more mixed. Short sellers have been stepping up their bets: the short interest in Vulcan’s ASX-listed shares rose to 5.88% in the latest week, a jump of 0.72 percentage points. The timing is awkward — the industry converges on Las Vegas from 22 to 25 June for the Fastmarkets Global Lithium, Battery & Critical Materials Conference, where Vulcan’s management will be under pressure to reassure investors. Meanwhile, State Street Corporation has quietly increased its voting rights in Vulcan to 3.05%, crossing the reporting threshold again, and several executives including CEO Cris Moreno and founder Dr. Francis Wedin recently converted performance rights into shares — administrative moves that underline the company’s shift from planning to execution.
That execution centres on the Lionheart project in the Upper Rhine Valley. Late May saw Vulcan close a €2.2 billion financing package combining debt and equity to build the first phase of a lithium extraction plant in Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate, and a chemical conversion facility at the Industriepark Höchst in Frankfurt. The project targets annual output of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate — enough for roughly 500,000 electric-vehicle batteries — and will also supply 275 GWh of electricity and 560 GWh of heat to the local grid once operational from 2028.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Vulcan Energy?
The stock, however, has yet to reflect these operational milestones. In Frankfurt, Vulcan shares recently changed hands at around €2.02 to €2.04, a discount of roughly 22% to their 200-day moving average of €2.61. The year-to-date loss stands at over 20%, with some sources putting the decline closer to 24%. The relative strength index of 42.5 points to consolidation rather than a clear buy signal, leaving the shares technically adrift.
All eyes now turn to the Las Vegas conference. With the short interest at a 5.88% high and the stock well below key averages, the gathering offers Vulcan’s management a platform to demonstrate concrete progress on Lionheart — and an opportunity to start reversing the bearish narrative that has kept the share price pinned. Whether that will be enough to shake off the shorts remains the burning question for the coming trading sessions.
Ad
Vulcan Energy Stock: Buy or Sell?! New Vulcan Energy Analysis from June 22 delivers the answer:
The latest Vulcan Energy figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for Vulcan Energy investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from June 22.
Vulcan Energy: Buy or sell? Read more here...
