Shares of UK-based CleanTech Lithium could soar 600%, according to investment bank Canaccord Genuity. Analysts at the bank said London-listed shares are likely to rise to £2.80 ($3.40) over the next 12 months as long-term lithium demand continues to grow. Shares traded around £0.40 on Monday at 2pm London time. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Jersey, CleanTech Lithium is a lithium exploration and development company — yet to actually mine any metal. The company went public in March 2022, and its shares have risen 15% since. It aims to source key battery materials for the electric vehicle industry from its mines by 2026. Earlier this month, CleanTech Lithium published the first economic study of its Laguna Verde project in Chile, which Canaccord Genuity says it will eventually be a low-cost producer among brine projects globally. “We believe the stock has been ‘flying under the radar’ since its 2022 IPO. However, with the recent release of the first economic research and a number of potential catalysts throughout 2023, we’re looking at some potential catalysts throughout 2023. I expect the stock to perform strongly next year,” Alexander Bedwany, equity analyst at Canaccord said in a note to clients Jan. 6. CTL-GB Line Chart 1 The year shows that CleanTech Lithium ‘Speculative Buy’ shares are listed in London The Investment Bank has rated the stock a ‘speculative buy’. meaning that it carries “significantly higher risk” than a stock with a typical buy rating and can result in significant losses for investors. In addition, the investment bank said CleanTech Lithium’s growth and build-up phase means that conventional fundamentals fail to value the company. Lithium demand outstrips supply in 2022. Spot prices of battery-grade lithium carbonate in China jumped nearly 700 percent last year, driven by sales of electric cars. To meet the growing demand for lithium, companies are investing in new mines and expanding existing ones which, if successful, will increase lithium supply and help stabilize prices in the long term. ‘Direct lithium mining’ CleanTech Lithium plans to extract the metal through “direct lithium mining”, which is said to be more environmentally friendly and uses less water than other alternative methods such as salt water harvesting. In contrast, the brine evaporation technique, which is the current industry standard, has been criticized for the huge amount of water it uses in water-deficient regions. CleanTech Lithium says it also plans to use renewable energy, making its eventual lithium mining process carbon neutral. According to Canaccord, while the direct lithium mining process is not new, it has not yet been deployed on a large scale for lithium mining and adds enforcement risk to CleanTech Lithium.