Cleantech Comebacks

Are Canadian cleantech stocks dead money? Check out a long term chart of most of the stocks in this technology sub sector and you’ll find a persistent pattern; they fly high on promise then crash and burn on reality.

That reality, more often than not, is that most new technologies face a longer and more arduous adoption cycle than investors perhaps allowed themselves to believe. But is there value in the veritable scrap heap of cleantech deals? While some issues are clearly down for the count, others have already started to fight back as the realities of their business proposition proved too strong to be dragged down by a middling sector performance. In this issue we examine Canadian cleantech stocks that may spark a Cleantech Comeback.

Our March issue kicks off with a conversation with Magma Energy’s Ross Beaty. Beaty made his name in mining, with massive and expertly timed bets on copper and silver. Pan American Silver (TSX:PAA) a company he founded and remains Chairman of, is the largest silver producer trading on a major US exchange, and is worth billions. In 2008, however, Beaty staked his claimed in geothermal energy. His Magma Energy (TSX:MXY) has been aggressive in acquiring a portfolio of properties in the United States, Latin American and, more controversially, Iceland. We talk to Beaty about what’s next for Magma and geothermal energy in general.

This month we welcome Cantech Letter’s new legal affairs columnist, Timothy Murphy. Tim has a masters degree in law from McGill University and is the principal of Murphy & Company, a Vancouver-based business law firm which specializes in IP/IT matters. Prior to setting up shop in Vancouver, Murphy practiced law with Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and, until recently, acted as in-house counsel with a multinational software company in Paris, France. In his first column, Murphy offers his take, drawing on the example of Magma Energy’s experience in Iceland, on some of the legal risks Canadian companies face when they do business overseas.

Immediately after going public, Magma Energy traded over the two dollar mark, but midway through 2010 fell to nearly half that. While this pattern is more than typical in the cleantech sector, the recent rebound in shares of Magma is not. But is there value in the scrapheap of Canadian cleantech issues? There may be – we check out 10 Canadian Cleantech Stocks that Could Spark a Cleantech Comeback.

Also in this issue, new contributor Danny Deadlock tells us why Natcore (TSXV:NXT) may be the next big thing in solar, and we interview Phil Sustronk from Pure Energy Vision (TSXV:PEV) and Bob de Wit from GreenAngel Energy (TSXV:GAE).

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