The QEM Ltd (ASX: QEM) share price is surging again today. At the time of writing, the vanadium and energy company's shares are trading for 27 cents, up 15.22% from yesterday's closing price.
Let's take a look at what's driving the QEM share price higher.
Floating away on hydrogen
While there is no news from QEM so far this week, today's gains may be residual from the company's big news last Monday.
On 15 March, the company announced it will be pursuing a hydrogen initiative in outback Queensland. Both the announcement and an accompanying investor presentation released two days later sent the QEM share price soaring. Last Monday, the QEM share price rose by an astonishing 101%. Then, on Wednesday, it rose by another 6.4%.
Yesterday, a day of no news, still saw the company's share price rocketing 53% and it seems to be following a similar trajectory today.
3 key drivers of the QEM share price
Over the last eight days, the company has shared three key happenings that have boosted the QEM share price. Firstly, as mentioned, the company announced its intention to produce 'green' hydrogen by using solar power to separate hydrogen from water – a process known as electrolysis. It is exploring opportunities to do so at its Julia Creek site.
Secondly, it shared it is seeking a number of government loans and grants with a combined value of more than $2.88 billion. The company believes it's eligible for funding from various federal and Queensland government initiatives, including the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility and the Strategic Blueprint for the North West Minerals Provence.
Finally, the company reiterated the importance of its Julia Creek site as an oil shale reserve and producer of vanadium. QEM hopes to make its oil production more sustainable by using its hydrogen resource to hydrogenate oil produced at Julia Creek.
Management comments
QEM managing director Gavin Loyden told The Motley Fool the company is very happy to see the market's response to its strategy. He said:
It's very encouraging to see that people understand what it is we are trying to achieve with the Julia Creek Project and how this aligns with both Federal and State Government priorities. The initial reaction has been to the hydrogen phase of our story, which interestingly is not something new. This is an integral part of the process design and has been for quite some time.
The difference now is that the project is gaining momentum at the same time as public awareness and government policy is there to provide the support and exposure that junior companies such as QEM need at these important inflection points of development.
We have always placed a keen focus on the environment with this project and our aim is to use the most advanced technologies at our disposal, including renewables and green hydrogen to ensure we have the best shot at delivering a world's best practice project, which seeks to produce products that will be essential to rebuilding the economy and driving progress in the energy space, such as vanadium for energy storage and sustainable fuels for transport.
QEM share price snapshot
Today's gains included, the QEM share price has rallied by more than 195% since the start of the month and around 188% year to date. It is also up by 278% over the last 12 months.
QEM has a market capitalisation of around $23 million, with approximately 100 million shares outstanding.
