General Development

In November 2024, the fund price recorded a loss of 12.68%. Donald Trump’s election as US President in November significantly impacted the performance of clean-tech stocks. A rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (FED) received little attention. The fund price decline began immediately after the election and rapidly intensified – a scenario similar to Trump’s first election eight years ago. By the end of November 2024, however, values showed initial signs of recovery after the initial shock had passed. There is hope that so-called “political markets” will also be short-lived this time – a phenomenon where political events often have sharp but temporary effects on markets. By January 2017, the portfolio had already significantly recovered within just three months after Trump’s first election, and over the entire duration of his first term from 2016 to 2020, the fund price increased by more than 200 percent. This illustrates that small-cap stocks could indeed benefit from positive political measures during the first Trump era. In particular, the tax breaks introduced for US companies at the time proved beneficial, from which our portfolio also profited. For full details on performance, please refer to our Factsheet.

Fund Performance

November’s Performance Shows a Clear Picture
In October, 6 holdings in our portfolio generated gains, while 23 holdings incurred losses. Modest gains came from Plug Power, Electrovaya, Aumann, Everfuel, Maxeon Solar, and Fuelcell Energy. Everfuel was divested through a full acquisition of its shares, and the proceeds from the sale were reinvested in companies such as Wolfspeed, SMA Solar, and Maxeon Solar.

Overall, losses were primarily driven by the following companies: Ceres Power, Wolfspeed, ITM Power, Hexagon Purus, PowerCell Sweden, and Nel ASA, all predominantly from the hydrogen sector.

Company Examples

Novonix

Novonix with New Major Orders and Capital Increase
Novonix has concluded a binding purchase agreement with Volkswagen battery subsidiary PowerCo for at least 32,000 tons of synthetic graphite material, spanning a five-year period starting in 2027. Another recently signed supply agreement with automaker Stellantis is even more extensive: it covers the purchase of at least 86,250 tons and potentially up to 115,000 tons starting in early 2026 over a six-year period. Both customers will be supplied by Novonix’s Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which recently received a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). Additionally, the Riverside facility was selected for a $103 million tax credit to finance the plant.

According to Novonix, plans are already underway for a second facility in the southeastern U.S., set to start with an initial capacity of 30,000 tons per year, with a later expansion to 75,000 tons per year. The commitment from Stellantis, in particular, represents a significant milestone for the company and confirms the strategic decision to implement growth plans in the e-mobility sector in the U.S. Offtake agreements with high-profile partners like Stellantis strengthen Novonix’s position as a leading company in transforming the synthetic graphite supply chain and accelerating the deployment of clean energy. Additional supply agreements with Panasonic and LG Energy have further solidified the customer base. A recently announced capital increase of $44.4 million strengthens the company’s capital structure and supports the financing of the massive capacity expansion.

Maxeon Solar

Maxeon Solar Realigns Focus to the U.S. Market
Maxeon Solar Technologies has announced a strategic realignment, stating its intention to exclusively serve the U.S. market going forward. The company plans to further expand its growing network of residential and commercial partners. A significant step in this direction is the construction of a new production facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is expected to provide 2 GW of solar module capacity starting in early 2026. In international markets, Maxeon and TCL Technology Group, the parent company of the majority shareholder, have reached an agreement in principle for the sale of Maxeon’s global sales and marketing organization to the TCL Group. With this strategic decision, Maxeon Solar is streamlining its focus on more profitable future markets, which has prompted us to increase our position in the company.

DynaCert

DynaCert Certifies its Patented Systems for Diesel Engine Retrofitting
The company’s HydraGEN products for reducing diesel engine emissions were recently certified for trading CO2 certificates. Thanks to VERRA certification, customers can improve their ESG performance and acquire and trade CO2 certificates for using the technology. This technology enables a significant reduction in pollutant emissions and fuel consumption for commercial vehicles. The focus is particularly on users of heavy vehicles from the mining, oil and gas, transport, and power generation sectors.

Developments in the Hydrogen Sector

KfW provides €24 billion loan for hydrogen core network in Germany.
The national hydrogen strategy of the outgoing federal government envisages establishing an approximately 9,000-kilometer core network by 2032. The Federal Network Agency recently approved the network, and now the financing is also in place: the state-owned KfW bank is providing a loan of €24 billion. With this commitment, the federal government closes a significant funding gap. Since network operators’ revenues will be relatively low at the outset – the Federal Network Agency has capped network charges to ensure that costs are affordable for users from the start – additional financing is required. However, the investment expenditure for the core network operators is substantial. Therefore, compensation payments were necessary, for which an amortization account was set up. The KfW loan will finance this account. Once the revenues of the hydrogen core network operators from network charges exceed costs, the additional revenues will flow back into the amortization account.

For the hydrogen core network, existing natural gas pipelines will be converted, and new hydrogen pipelines will be built. Connecting potential production and import sites as well as major industrial centers is intended to enable comprehensive industrial use of hydrogen. The first sections of the core network are expected to be commissioned next year. Stefan Wintels, CEO of KfW: “The development of the hydrogen core network is a groundbreaking pioneering project and crucial for the ramp-up of green hydrogen wherever possible. Especially for energy-intensive industries, the successful transition to hydrogen is a critical factor.”