ASX lithium shares have offered investors some choice returns over the past year.
Taking a look at three leading ASX lithium stocks, Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has gained 324% over the past 12 months; Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares are up 34%; and the Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price has gained 119%.
Those impressive results are even better in light of the 5% full-year loss posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).
ASX lithium shares have benefited from soaring lithium prices, up more than 400% over the past year. This comes amid rapid growth in the EV markets, with China posting record EV sales of 571,000 vehicles in June alone.
Lithium, as you're likely aware, is a core element in the batteries that make EVs go.
And with the world moving to decarbonise, governments, car manufacturers and investors alike have been placing big bets on the fact that EVs will continue to replace combustion engine vehicles over the coming decade.
This thesis sees growing demand for lithium over the coming decade, which will continue to support ASX lithium shares.
But what if they're betting on the wrong horse?
Porsche tests hydrogen-combustion car
While the EV market isn't likely to be upended overnight, car makers including Porsche are pouring money into researching clean alternative combustion energy sources.
Namely hydrogen.
As Motor1 reports, Porsche recently completed a virtual test of a hydrogen-powered car.
Note that this is a combustion motor, and not the same thing as a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, which uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity.
The simulated Porsche used the company's 4.4 litre V8 combustion engine as the building block for the tests, in which the car topped out at 261 kilometres per hour, producing an impressive 590 horsepower.
Porsche stated its simulation demonstrated the engine could meet the Euro 7 emissions standards.
ASX lithium shares won't be feeling the impact of its hydrogen-powered cars soon, as Porsche said it wasn't going to produce the motor in "its current form". But Porsche added it had gained "valuable insights" from the tests.
And Porsche isn't alone.
According to Motor1, Ford has filed a patent for a hydrogen-combustion engine, while Toyota is also studying the potential.
How have these ASX lithium shares performed longer-term?
We looked at the one-year return for three of the leading ASX lithium shares above.
So, how have they performed over the past five years?
If you'd bought Allkem shares five years ago you'd be sitting on a gain today of 274%. Lake Resources shares have gained 2,320% over that period, while the Core Lithium share price has rocketed 4,567%.
Take that, hydrogen!
