Most people agree that change is needed. We must stop or at least significantly limit toxic emissions, produce more environmentally responsible, reduce waste, etc. Investments are needed for all this to happen, but what to invest in? There are 100+ Nordic listed impact companies so why not start looking here!
The Nordic impact companies make everything from turning waste into useful products, producing hydrogen, decarbonizing, eco-friendly mobility, to renewable energy production and storage. Basically, something for everyone who wants to impact invest. The total market cap of the companies is EUR 54 billion and the average market cap per company is EUR 530 million. Hence, there is also something for every size purse.
If you want to invest in Nordic impact stocks or are just curious about what the possibilities are, Kapital Partner has launched a Newsletter that will highlight trends and investment possibilities. Below is an introcution and overview of the sector, the companies, and the stocks.
Subscribe to the Nordic | Impact newsletter here
Seven Impact Investment Sectors
To create an overall view of the investment possibilities and to enable selective investors to cut through to what interests them, we have divided the more than 100 Nordic impact companies into 7 sectors.
The variety of companies and sectors is significant – making room for every kind of investor from start-up investors to large cap-only funds. The largest sectors by market cap are Energy Production Equipment & Services and Energy Production & Storage with a total market cap of EUR 24 billion and EUR 23.7 billion respectively and consisting of 26 and 21 companies respectively. On the other side of the scale, the smallest sector is Mobility with five companies and a total market cap of EUR 107 million.
Nordic Impact Sectors by Market Cap (MEUR)
From tiny cap to large cap
Not surprisingly the most valuable companies are from the electricity sector, but also a single company from the waste management sector is among the large caps. The most valuable companies are Vestas (Wind turbines – market cap. EUR 20.7 billion), Ørsted (electricity production – market cap EUR 19.3 billion) and Tomra (reverse vending machines – market cap EUR 2.2 billion). The by market cap smallest companies are Recyctec Holding (recycling of glycol – market cap EUR 0.2M), Taurus Energy (eco-friendly production of ethanol – 0.4M) and Move About Group AB (electric carpools platform – market cap EUR 0.8M).
The Largest Nordic Impact Companies by Market Cap (MEUR)
2023 has been a very tough impact investor year
The sectors and stocks have – from an investor point of view – witnessed significant ups and downs. After “the sky is the limit” expectations and very high valuations in 2021, things have cooled considerably leaving some stocks at a fraction of their maximum value. Further, inflation and rising interest rates have not been positive factors for the impact stocks in general this year pressing the share prices of the early-stage companies even further down. But also the largest companies like Ørsted and Vestas have witnessed significant backlashes this year.
But there are still good investments to be made, espicially with th current depressed prices and good investments have been made this year. The best performing stocks this year have been: Cambi ASA (CAMBI), a provider of thermal hydrolysis solutions for sewage sludge and organic waste management, (167%), BPC Instruments (BPCINS), provider of services for biogas plants, (167%), and Windon Energy Group AB (WEG), a provider of solar cell systems (85%).
The best performing impact stocks year-to-date
No safe heaven
The best performing stocks come from different impact sectors emphasizing that positive share price developments in 2023 have been the result of company specific factors. In all sectors but Mobility it has been possible to find stocks that have performed year-to-date, but all sectors are in negative territory this year. The best performing sectors year-to-date have been CO2 & Carbon Capture, Waste Management, and Energy Production & Storage with year-to-date returns of -19%, -21% and -34%.
Overview of the best performing impact sectors since the start of the year
Waste Management – the best big sector of the year
The waste management sector has the best performing stock and the largest share of stocks with a positive return year-to-date among the large sectors. The best performing company Cambi (CAMBI) is a global provider of thermal hydrolysis solutions for sewage sludge and organic waste management, and anaerobic digestion and biogas solutions in wastewater treatment. Other companies in the sector are i.a. Quantafuels (QFUEL), that converts post-consumer plastic waste back into low-carbon synthetic oil products, Renewcell (RENEW), a textile-to-textile recycling company, Norditek (NOTEK), that sells, leases and rents out crushers, sorting plants and proprietary machines that recycle and convert materials into salable products, and Cinis Fertilizer (CINIS), that produces environmentally friendly mineral fertilizer through the upcycling of waste products from the pulp & paper industry and the electric vehicle battery industry.
Year-to-date performance for Waste Management
Energy Production & Storage – The Big Take
Despite the global focus on renewable energy and a sector with large-cap companies only 3 of the 21 stocks are in positive territory year-to-date. The best-performing of the stocks are Magnora (MGN) and EAM Solar (EAM) – both investment companies within PV and wind. Other sectors stocks are PV and wind farm operators like OX2 (OX2SE) Ørsted (ORSTED), and SaltX Technology Holding (SALTb) which develops a technology that stores energy in salt crystals and converts it into heating and cooling.
Year-to-date performance for Energy Production & Storage
Energy Production Equipment & Services – Surprisingly Negative Performance
Only 4 of the 26 stocks within energy production equipment and services have given a positive returns year-to-date – mirroring the performance of the energy production and storage sector. With a year-to-date price performance of 167%, BPC Instruments (BPCINS), a services provider for biogas plants, tops the chart. Other sector companies are P2X developer Green Hydrogen Systems (GREENH), which develops and produces electrolysis solutions, Vestas Wind Systems (VWS), the global producer of wind turbines, REC Silicon (RECSI), a worldwide supplier of high-purity polysilicon and silicon gases to the solar and electronics industries, and Hexicon (HEXI), engaged in the design, development, and engineering of floating multi-turbine wind power platforms.
Year-to-date performance for Energy Production Equipment & Services
Power2X & Fuel Cells – The Future of Energy
Despite the focus on Power2X and fuel cells the sectors’ stocks have not performed this year, with the biomethane supplier Refuels (REFL) being the only stock with a positive year-to-date return. Other companies in the sector are Everfuel (EFUEL), that owns and operates hydrogen production and distribution, Powercell Sweden (PCELL) engaged in the development, manufacture, and sales of power systems with fuel cell and reformer technology, and Biokraft International (BIOGAS) a producer of biogas.
Year-to-date performance for Power2X & Fuel Cells
Food & Beverages – Not so spicy
Most of the companies and the largest in the sector are in the business of fish farming/aquaculture, with Proximar Seafood (PROXI) being the best performing and stock with a positive return this year. Other companies are Agtira (AGTIRAb), that produces vegetables in or in proximity to supermarkets, Veg of Lund (VOLAB), that produces potato-based milk, Ekobot (EKOBOT), a producer of farm robots, and Humble Group (HUMBLE), an FMCG group with more than 40 companies in branding, distribution and production of sustainable consumer products.
Year-to-date performance for Food & Beverages
CO2 & Carbon Capture – Best Performance
With half of the stock in positive territory year-to-date, the capture sector have been the best of all sectors. The best performing stock is Photocat (PCAT) that develops and produces photocatalytic surface treatments to remove NOx. The two others positively performing stocks are: Bergen Carbon Solutions (BCS), producer of technology that turn CO2 emissions into carbon nanofiber and Capsol Technologies (CAPS), that offers carbon capture technologies.
Year-to-date performance for CO2 & Carbon Capture
Mobility – Moving in the Wrong Direction
Not a single one of the stocks within mobility has generated a positive performance this year. The best-performing stock is the car-share company GreenMobility (GREENM) with the bike-sharing company Donkeyrepublic Holding (DONKEY) doing just slightly worse. The only hardware producer is Clean Motion (CLEMO) which develops and produces small electrical vehicles.
Year-to-date performance for Mobility
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