What happened
Clean energy stocks are rising today, and some speculative names like QuantumScape (QS -1.97%) are leading the way. Shares of the solid-state battery company were trading near the day's highs up 7.5% as of 3:30 p.m. ET.
So what
The company is participating at a three-day conference starting today, and investors may be looking forward to what it has to say. The 15th annual Global Transportation & Sustainable Mobility Conference hosted by investment banking company Cowen will run from today through Friday. But many renewable energy stocks are jumping today, so the conference certainly isn't the only catalyst. Other things investors are watching today include analyst support for the electric vehicle (EV) sector as well as concrete evidence that renewable power is helping California's energy grid.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Analysts are citing the Inflation Reduction Act as a future tailwind for many stocks in the EV sector. That included a call today from Credit Suisse that predicts nearly 50% upside for leading EV charging-network company ChargePoint Holdings.
Followers on Twitter are also monitoring a thread that has been highlighting the increased use of renewable energy and, importantly for QuantumScape, battery utilization as California faces a heatwave and increased power demand.
California Independent System Operator (ISO) monitors and reports on the state's energy transmission grid. It has been showing an increased use of solar energy and increased battery-storage discharge as the state struggles through the week of elevated energy consumption.
The real world application and benefits from renewable energy and battery technology bode well for increased future use. QuantumScape is focusing its solid-state batteries on EV users, but any growth in demand is deemed a positive for investors speculating on its business growing significantly in the future.
