I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time following LK-99 on HN, Twitter and prediction markets over the last week.
While we are a still a long way from any concrete evidence and any potential commercial impact is going to depend heavily on its material properties I wonder what stocks people are looking at that could benefit from this.
I’m looking at clean energy - because I think it’s very hard to pick specific winners but if a material can be created that supports high currents that would allow for lossless transfer of energy and if it tolerates high flux it could also transform energy storage - those would great advantage intermittent energy generation like wind and solar.
This is an interesting development and could be an important breakthrough. However, from what I gather, there’s a lot scepticism from physicists and the research has not been peer reviewed.
Despite being the clear direction of travel, it’s so tricky to invest in the environment and clean energy. While there’s money to be made, I cannot say who the winners will be with any confidence.
It’s such a minefield of greenwashing, duds and highly speculative/risky plays. Even if a technology is truly ground-breaking, there’s no guarantee that associated business models will make money.
Judging by the performance of ETFs like INRG, buying the haystack doesn’t seem to work well either.
So, what’s an investor to do? The best I can come up with is an active fund. I figure it’s worth paying the best part of 1% for a manager which has real expertise and a long track record in this area.