Hey Lumia, Intriguing comments from you regarding KNL, SGL...

Hey Lumia,

Intriguing comments from you regarding KNL, SGL Carbon Group, BMW and CATL. Appears both BMW and VW to get EV Batteries from CATL factory in Germany. The Latest SGL Annual Report shows both BMW (18%) and VW (7%) are significant holders with largest shareholder being Susanne Klatten(28%) as u pointed out. Klatten also heads SGL Carbon Group supervisory board with company providing lightweight carbon composites to BMW/VW/Audi/Volvo so clearly a strategic investment.



Siblings Susanne Klatten (21%) and Stefan Quandt(26%) now own 47% of BMW combined , with both sitting on BMW supervisory board. Interesting just how committed BMW have become to EV under their control, with Sept 2018 Investor Presentation spelling it out. SGL have long history providing synthetic graphite to major anode manufacturers; one of biggest suppliers to Hitachi Chemical who in turn supply Panasonic/Tesla for gigafactory cell production. Anticipating strong growth in their Graphite Materials & Systems(GMS) division - Investor Relations Presentation July 2018



SGL Annual Report bullish on EV:
"The highest absolute sales revenue increases were recorded by the market segments for batteries and other energy as well as industrial applications. Business with anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (batteries and other energy market segment) grew by a favorable 35%."

Cathode-wise, lithium hydroxide/carbonate outlook from Roskill & CRU also supporting strong sector growth with Ganfeng IPO and Tianq IPO docs for upcoming Hong Kong listings providing latest market demand estimates. Gangfeng locking in recent lithium supply for Tesla, also LG Chem & Samsung SDI deals and yesterday BMW (for CATL) suggests EV momentum becoming reality with graphite equivalents also needed. Worth reflecting on KNL's note concerning top anode manufacturers from June 2018 Presentation.



Middle section our target market for spherical and here's relative volumes for those top 5 companies:


Those companies locking in lithium will also need to lock in graphite in near future.

Back to SGL, also doubt they are KNL's EGT as predominantly provide synthetic graphite so see any potential relationship with KNL as a new development. Would certainly be a coup for us if SGL get involved in spherical production. Currently have German Gov. funding supporting EcoGraf, German Gov. bank supporting Epanko, German expertise in Christoph Frey's ProGraphite GmbH so SGL Carbon Group would be a natural fit. Could happen quickly if KNL sourcing graphite ex Epanko for pilot production, maybe our EGT helping with conc. supply? Very little to go on and just speculation atm, but did note "Advanced discussions with existing partners and leading German Carbon Groups" in June Investor Presentation.

cheers