Sunrise Energy Metals - SRL4 Feb 2022 - SES AI Corp listed on...

Sunrise Energy Metals - SRL

4 Feb 2022 - SES AI Corp listed on the NYSE
SES is the only 'next generation' battery company with an 'A' sample. One of the directors of SES is legendary mining figure and founder of Ivanhoe Mines, Robert Friedland. Robert Friedland is also the co-chair of Sunrise Energy Metals. The Sunrise team completed their Definitive Feasibility Study in 2018 and the Project Execution Plan in 2020. The project has all regulatory approvals in place and is shovel ready. Sunrise is the only Nickel project in Australia with Major Project Status. Sunrise has received a conditional letter of support from Export Finance Australia for $400m debt funding from Australia's $2b Critical Minerals Fund ( fully 20% of the fund !! ).

With +900 kt of Nickel and +160 kt of Cobalt, the Sunrise project is one of the largest projects in Australia and is certainly the closest to construction. NPV is US$1.2b according to the PEP (i.e., AU$1.6b); however, when you take into account recent rises in Nickel and Cobalt price, NPV is +AU$2b. Current market cap $180m.

We have very good reason to believe that a deal is coming "soon". Following is a quote from Robert Friedland in SES's press release on listing on the NYSE last week:

“I am delighted to be joining the SES success story,” said Mr. Friedland. “We are firmly aligned with many of the world’s leading auto manufacturers in our confidence that SES’s proprietary Li-Metal batteries will make SES the only next-generation battery technology company to succeed in commercializing its batteries by the middle of this decade. Deep vertical integration between miners producing ethically-sourced “green metals” and major electric auto makers is coming soon and will be of profound, long-term importance to all involved stakeholders.”

Of note, the Sunrise project is the only Cobalt resource in Robert Friedland's extensive portfolio.