I never heard it coming

The Other Massively Popular Electric Vehicle (Hint, Tesla Doesn’t Make These…YET)

I never heard it coming.

The sound of the ocean hid its passage until it was nearly on me. And then a sleek, futuristic gray bike hummed by my beach chair. 

Its fat tires threw up wet sand behind it. In the saddle, a sunburnt teenage girl grinned with joy. 

She was one of twenty or so electric bike riders I saw on Memorial Day. There were probably hundreds over the holiday weekend. And they aren’t just on the beach, they are everywhere. 

They make me smile, because they are just up-styled mopeds (if you are a child of the 80’s like me, you remember mopeds). But they are cool, and the world has embraced them. 

I spoke to friends in cities like Portland, Seattle, and New York. The electric bike market is booming right now. They are inexpensive, stylish, quiet, and convenient.

According to the National Bicycle Dealers Association, electric bike sales broke $1.3 billion in 2022. That was 33% more than in 2021. And the forecast calls for sales to hit $1.6 billion this year.

That’s a lot of bikes.
And it’s growing much faster in Asia than it is in the U.S. According to Data Bridge Market Research, e-bike sales hit $5.2 billion in 2022. And they are forecast to break $12.5 billion by 2029. That’s a huge 10.6% compound annual growth rate

An E-bike battery can weigh between 5 and 40 pounds. That will have a material impact on lithium demand. This is big, new source of both primary lithium demand and recyclable used batteries. The volumes are significant, due to the surge in demand.

Sales in China alone exceeded 30 million bikes per year. Today, there are more than 300 million E-bikes in China. Sales in Thailand exceeded 5.2 million bikes in 2021.

The popularity of electric bicycles just adds to more data to an already heaping pile. The electrification of the world is underway. It’s a massive pivot in the evolution of human energy consumption. 

I’m absolutely captivated by what’s happening. We are living in a period that will be referenced in history books forever. And in Mangrove Investor’s New Energy, we can put our money to work supporting the companies that are changing the world…for the good.

Sincerely,
Matt Badiali

Numbers to Know

1895

The first patent for an e-bike was granted on December 31, 1895, to Ogden Bolton Jr. He invented a battery-powered electric bicycle with a “6-pole brush-and-commutator direct current (DC) hub motor mounted in the rear wheel.” (eBicycles)

$1000 to $3000

The average cost of a standard Electric Bike can range from $1000 to $3000. But if you want really fancy they can cost as much as $13,000. (biketoworktoday)

74

The Revolution XX is the world’s fastest e-bike, with a top speed of 74 miles per hour.(Make Us Of)

What’s New in Sustainable Investing

Goldman Warns ESG Investors Against Rushing to Divest From Oil and Gas

nvestors focused on the ESG rush to divest from oil and gas should focus instead on investment in renewables and other forms of low-carbon energy supply, Michele Della Vigna, Goldman Sachs’s head of natural resources research. (Oilprice.com)

Solar Energy Investment Topping Fossil Fuels Worldwide in 2023

A new report by the International Energy Agency estimates that investment in clean, carbon-reducing energy technologies will top $1.8 trillion around the world in 2023. Solar power accounts for a record $1 trillion-plus this year, perhaps topping even the long-king oil and gas industries, according to IEA’s world energy investment report(T&D World)

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