The S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is down 0.75% in morning trade but that's not holding back this soaring ASX 300 stock.
The high-flying company is question is lithium share Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL).
The ASX 300 stock closed on Friday trading for $5.93. In early trade on Monday, shares were changing hands for $6.12 apiece, up 3.2%.
As you can see on the above chart, today's outperformance is par for the course for Vulcan Energy shares — up an impressive 185% since this time last year.
Here's what's grabbing investor interest today.
ASX 300 stock lifts on lithium production milestone
Investors are bidding up the ASX 300 stock despite today's sinking market. This follows Vulcan Energy's announcement that it has achieved its first battery quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) production.
Management reported that the production of the LHM met product purity specifications at its downstream Central Lithium Electrolysis Optimisation Plant, located in Frankfurt, Germany.
Vulcan processed the LHM from high purity lithium chloride concentrate. This was extracted from brine at the upstream, adsorption-type Direct Lithium Extraction optimisation plant, located in Landau.
The ASX 300 stock noted the achievement represented the first fully integrated, battery-quality LHM produced in Europe, from raw material to final product.
Vulcan fully domestically produced LHM using an integrated and secure supply chain. That included upstream raw material production from the Lithium Electrolysis Optimisation Plan. The company said this would help strengthen Europe's raw material independence and advance the green mobility transition.
The company highlighted that the production from deep, naturally heated brine reservoirs, with downstream conversion to LHM using electricity and no fossil fuels in the process, "establishes one of the world's most sustainable, cost-efficient and scalable lithium supply chains".
Commenting on the achievement, Vulcan CEO Cris Moreno congratulated "the entire Vulcan team on achieving the first battery quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate production at our downstream optimisation plant".
Moreno said:
This is a major milestone for Vulcan and demonstrates the final step in establishing a first fully domestic and integrated supply chain in Europe producing battery grade LHM from a local resource.
I am really proud of the Vulcan project and the operations team on how quickly they have moved from start of operations in November to first production of pure LHM which further exemplifies Vulcan's position as Europe's most advanced integrated lithium and renewable energy project.
In what Vulcan labels "Phase One Lionheart", the ASX 300 stock is targeting the supply of some 24,000 tonnes a year of LHM. Or enough to supply the needs for approximately 500,000 electric vehicles each year.
That will come from Vulcan's commercial plant, set to be constructed in the same industrial park as its optimisation plant.
