Eguana/EGT

Eguana Technologies, a leading provider of high-performance energy systems, announced it is collaborating with leading grid edge monitoring and solutions provider Itron to deliver advanced utility control of energy storage systems with Iron’s IntelliFLEX grid edge Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS).

Both companies will, jointly and independently, market the combined solution, focusing on utilities that "are interested in ramping up distributed energy procurement but prefer to use a grid edge dispatch and monitoring network that is already well established," Eguana said in a release.

"This integrated solution marks a major milestone for the industry," Eguana Chief Executive Officer Justin Holland said. "No longer will residential energy storage systems be consigned to simply supplying backup power with the occasional optional dispatch for demand response.  The integrated IntelliFLEX with Evolve opens the door to deploying energy storage assets as an essential contributor to grid capacity and infrastructure."

Eguana's Evolve virtual power plant (VPP) uses smart batteries at the edge of the grid (the homes and businesses that use the energy) tied to software that helps distribute and store energy in the batteries when it's not needed and makes it available to the grid at peak times.

*"The rickety traditional centralized grid structure is at or close to its limits and requires transformation," wrote Technical Analyst Clive Maund about the company on March 24. "The advantages of this transformation will be huge — a massive increase in capacity, vastly more efficient utilization of power generated, decreased demand on centralized power generation, and protection of the end user, corporate or private, from power outages."

Eguana's charts show positive signs for investors, he noted. "Of note is the buildup in upside volume from September last year, which has driven the Accumulation line higher," Maund wrote. "This volume action is bullish and strongly suggests that the base pattern is genuine and will lead to the birth of a new bull market. In addition, the volume pattern and On-balance Volume are definitely positive on the chart for the U.S. traded stock."

Maund said he viewed the stock as having an "exceptionally positive risk/reward ratio" and rated it a Strong Buy for all time horizons, with targets of CA$0.060-0.07, CA$0.10, and CA$0.20; CA$0.60, CA$0.70, CA$1, or CA$2 after the company's just announced 10:1 share consolidation takes effect.

Share Consolidation, Duracell Settlement

Shareholders approved the share consolidation plan at a meeting last September. Eguana said it currently has 451,956,022 common shares issued and outstanding. Following completion of the consolidation, the company will have about 45,195,602 commons shares issued and outstanding.

"The company expects the consolidation will increase the price of its common shares, which could increase investor interest, reduce shareholder transaction costs and improve trading liquidity," it said in a release on March 20.

The company said it would release the effective date of the consolidation in another release. At the time of writing, the share price was CA$0.015.

Also on March 20, Eguana announced it had reached a settlement with Omega Electronics Manufacturing Services and Omega Green Power (doing business as Duracell Power Center) in which Duracell has paid Eguana US$250,000 and will transfer ownership of US$1.1 million in finished Evolve systems under the agreements to Eguana.

Duracell Power Center has agreed to increase the amount of manufacturing credit available to Eguana under the Agreements by US$250,000 to US$1.45M. The credit must be fully utilized by Eguana within the next 36 months.

"The settlement agreement increases our finished goods inventories, which have been key to executing the feeder enhancement project in British Columbia, as well as providing additional systems to continue accelerating our utility strategy," Holland said. "The cash component has provided some near-term liquidity relief, and the manufacturing credit and raw materials will reduce working capital requirements balance of year and through 2026."

A 'Full-Blown Energy Crisis'

Demand for power is skyrocketing for things like artificial intelligence (AI), computer data centers and electric vehicles (EVs), which is taxing the traditional power grid.

"You can only put so much power through that substation when you go from main grid to feeder line, you simply don't have two bridges to the feeder line," Holland has said. "When you've got growth (from) EVs, data centers, AI, population, it doesn't matter.  Any growth.  Now you've outstripped the capacity of the substation at peak periods."

Holland continued, "Now what they can do is they can load grid connected batteries overnight. Then, they can draw backwards out of the battery. So, there's no longer overcapacity at the substation; and seamless to the consumer."

According to a report by the International Energy Agency, the situation has escalated dramatically "into a full-blown global energy crisis" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with natural gas prices reaching record highs and oil prices rising.

To keep up with demand and what is being called the "electrification super cycle," Eguana noted that global electricity needs to double in 30 years, and "current infrastructure cannot manage this growth."

To upgrade traditional feeders, utilities must plan years in advance and commit large amounts of capital to upgrading the system. Eguana's Evolve and Edge systems give utilities flexibility to increase feeder growth incrementally.

The energy storage market is expected to be worth US$250 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16%, Eguana noted.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, VPPs are set for "massive growth thanks to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which created or enlarged tax incentives for EVs, electric water heaters, solar panels, and other devices."

Province Looks to Block Tesla Products

One of Eguana's important projects is the upgrade of feeder lines to 5,000 customers in British Columbia's Hemlock Valley.

Maund noted that the province has removed all Tesla products in response to U.S. tariffs, meaning they will be "excluded from BC Hydro rebates."

"The province of Ontario looks set to do the same," Maund wrote. "This is big news because Eguana is perfectly positioned to fill the gap. The whole thing is operated by the Eguana Cloud, which is a software stack that controls everything and optimizes inputs and outputs continuously in real-time."

Maund continued, "Eguana will generate revenue through two complementary ways: its energy storage hardware platform and recurring streams through Eguana Cloud's integrated software applications."

Increased upside volume is what is driving the gradual change of the stock's trend from down to up, and it now looks like the price is "marking out the Right Shoulder of the pattern."

"If this interpretation is correct, then we are at an optimal time to buy the stock from a price/time perspective since buyers here could net substantial or even very large percentage gains relatively quickly should it complete the pattern soon and break out into a new bull market as looks probable," he said.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, about 0.5% is owned by management and insiders, and 24.6% is held by the Japanese ITOCHU Corp.

Before the share consolidation, the company has 451.96 million shares outstanding and a market cap of CA$6.79 million, according to Reuters. Its 52-week range is CA$0.01 and CA$0.02.