Not sure how we missed this one this morning.  Valence Technology (VLNC) landed a big deal today and will be the lithium battery supplier to the world’s largest yacht manufacturer, BJ Technologie.  They will be the exclusive provider for all new Beneteau Group hybrid electric yachts, sailboats and motorboats that use the ZF Marine hybrid drive system with potential revenue of $9 million over the next year.  I can’t imagine there is a strong market right now for hybrid yachts and that $9 million may be optimistic, but if that figure holds it represents about 6 months of revenue for this small company.  I do think longer term this could be a big market though.  Boats are horribly inefficient, some obnoxiously noisy (jet skis anyone?) and pollute the heck out of our lakes and rivers.  Deliveries are expected to begin in the 2nd half of the year. 

Valence CEO Robert Kanode called the hybrid marine market a revolution: “This is a revolution, not an evolution, in marine propulsion, energy generation, storage and management.  Beneteau is setting a new blue water standard for cleaner sailing yachts. Ports and harbors around the world will be cleaner, quieter and safer thanks to Valence Technology’s safe, dynamic energy systems and the forward thinking of companies like Beneteau Group, and ZF Marine, a pioneer in electric pod drives.”

The hybrid system will have the ability to recharge itself with kinetic energy generated by reversing the propeller while under sail, eliminating the need for polluting diesel generators.  The companies unveiled the hybrid yachts at the Paris International Boat Show in December and at the Dusseldorf Boat Show in January.

This is great news for Valence which has been trading under a buck for the past month.  The stock gapped up and was up over 20% at one point today, but reversed off the highs to close back below a buck.  It was able to hold above the 50 day moving average though and may prove to be a great lotto ticket down here… with much better odds of course : )

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