German investor Deutsche Balaton has built an ASX empire, and it’s backing this battery stock to the hilt

German investor Deutsche Balaton is one of the most prominent backers of ASX small caps, and battery tech player Altech is a unique holding.

Altech is sparking excitement with German investment company, Deutsche Balaton. Pic: Getty Images

• German investor Deutsche Balaton has built an empire of ASX resources stocks

• It's also branching out, holding a role as battery stock Altech’s major shareholder

• This is how DB's Wilhelm Zours invests, and why Altech is one of its key ASX holdings

Any clued-in observer of the energy market knows solar and wind power is just one part of the solution for green energy.

Now mainstream technologies, the key is not solar panels and turbines, it's working out how to store that energy for round-the-clock power.

With the growth in the rollout and usage of AI, experts expect to see a rise in the use of battery energy storage systems (BESS), allowing data centres to be supplied with a cost effective and steady base-load.

While the battery market explores everything from lead-acid to sodium-ion, Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC) stands alone on the ASX with a game-changing chemistry using simple table salt and nickel powder – sidestepping costly, high-demand critical minerals.

And the company's technology comes with a key backer in one of the ASX's leading resources investors, a major show of support from a backer normally known for providing the capital to turn lithium and gold small caps into major players.

Founded and led by German businessman Wilhelm Konrad Zours, Deutsche Balaton has been a fixture in ASX resources investing for years.

Its appearance at the head of Altech's register, with a combined stake across multiple entities of 16.5%, lends credence to the battery tech stock's growth story.

Investor backing

Deutsche Balaton's backing has gone further than simply holding equity.

In a strong vote of confidence, the German investment firm agreed to a $4.28M loan facility in March to fuel Altech’s CERENERGY and Silumina Anodes developments.

By offering the loan in the form of a binding bond note subscription deed, Altech has been able to draw down the funds in the form of bearer bonds, with interest set at 7% per annum.

Speaking with Stockhead, Altech chief financial officer Martin Stein said Deutsche Balaton has been a supportive shareholder throughout the years, first joining the company’s register about six years ago.

The synergies are even stronger than many of the firm's ASX investments, given Altech's plans to base its plants in an industrial park in Saxony, close to the European EV industry.

“Deutsche Balaton has provided capital and debt instruments to help finance Altech’s objectives,” he said.

“From a geographical standpoint, being close to both of Altech’s battery projects in Germany, I think the company can see the enormous potential of CERENERGY and the Silumina Anodes projects.”

How does Altech's tech work?

Without the danger of thermal runaway, extended durability and a broad operating range from -40°C to 60°C, Altech's solid-state chemistry dubbed CERENERGY sets a new standard for battery safety and performance in stationary storage solutions like grid infrastructure and data centres.

Altech’s other development, Silumina Anodes, is tackling one of the toughest battery challenges when using silicon in battery anodes, the issue of silicon swelling.

During charging, silicon particles can expand by as much as 300%, causing swelling and fracturing that may lead to battery failure.

It also tends to immobilise lithium ions, which can reduce overall performance and shorten battery lifespan.

By using alumina-coated particles, Altech believes it has cracked the silicon code.

Through in house R&D and by optimising the silicon content to 5%, the company has achieved a 50% higher energy battery with improved cyclability and battery life.

In its push to bring patented technology to market, Altech has built a pilot plant next to the proposed project site in Saxony, Germany, where it is now successfully producing coated silicon for its Silumina Anodes product qualification.

Broad ASX exposure

Altech may have drawn Deutsche Balaton to its battery-tech plans, but the firm is active across a broader portfolio of ASX resources companies.

Among its best bets was backing Azure Minerals, which netted the connected Delphi Group a $176m payout after the Andover lithium project owner's $1.7bn sale to SQM and Hancock Prospecting.

Its other big investments include a 6.32% stake in critical minerals explorer Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX:EV1), owners of the Chilalo graphite project in Tanzania which is advancing towards FID.

An updated DFS for Chilalo in March 2023 demonstrated a high-quality project based on average annual throughput of 500,000tpa at 10.6% TGC to produce 52,000tpa of graphite concentrate for downstream processing.

The company recently unveiled a new strategic direction, focused on acquiring gold development assets in Africa, with the backing of its largest shareholder – Sustainable Resources Fund (ARCH).

The German firm has also taken position in several ASX gold stocks, now reaping the rewards of a gold price near all-time highs at ~$5000/oz.

Its portfolio includes 1% of Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), having largely cashed out by selling much of its stake to SPR's now merger partner Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) in a strategic move last year. The gold developer had massively rerated off the back of its Never Never discovery at the Dalgaranga gold project – a reward for Zours and Co.'s patience having backed the firm back in its desperate Gascoyne Resources days.

Also in WA and PNG's gold fields it holds major positions in Matsa Resources (ASX:MAT) (~19.6%), Patronus Resources (ASX:PTN) (42.35%), and Geopacific Resources (ASX:GPR) (~46%).

Over in PNG, a move from St Barbara to acquire the holding of Deutsche linked PTN in GPR could open up more M&A value creation for the German money men.

It’s also active across other commodities like high purity alumina (HPA) with a 6.17% holding in Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT), the developers of the 80% owned Lake Hope project in WA.

Lake Hope has a measured resource of 730,000t grading 25.8% alumina, or 189,000t of contained alumina, providing strong assurance that it can support the proposed 10,000tpa HPA plant over a 15-year period.

This resource will also underpin a maiden probable or proven reserve subject to ongoing mining studies, test work and economic studies to be completed as part of the PFS currently underway.

Deutsche Balaton holds a 8.36% stake in Tivan (ASX:TVN), giving it exposure to vanadium and fluorite, along with copper-zinc through a 11.66% stake in Orion Minerals (ASX:ORN).

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Altech Batteries, Impact Minerals and Spartan Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as German investor Deutsche Balaton has built an ASX empire, and it’s backing this battery stock to the hilt