Goldman Sachs says the climate bill is a 'game changer' and these global stocks will get a boost

Published Wed, Aug 31 20228:26 PM EDT

The Biden administration passed the largest climate bill in history in August, giving a boost to a range of U.S.-listed clean energy stocks. The $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act , also known as the climate bill, includes $369 billion for energy security and clean energy provisions. The bill has a vast reach in the renewable energy sector — it will affect just about every area from solar to wind, hydrogen, nuclear, electric vehicles and more nascent technologies. Goldman Sachs called the bill a "game changer" for the "clean" hydrogen economy — in the United States and beyond. The investment bank and other analysts have given their top, global stock picks and have explained how they will benefit from the bill. 'Clean' hydrogen The climate bill includes investment tax credits, and for the first time hydrogen has been included under the scope of energy storage technologies that are eligible for those credits, said Goldman. Hydrogen can be used as a way to store energy from intermittent renewable sources like sun and wind. There are also "clean vehicle" credits to commercial vehicles, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the bank noted. Overall, the legislation includes $9.5 billion for "green" hydrogen initiatives. Clean tech stocks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa region stand to benefit, according to Goldman. The investment bank picked these buy-rated stocks with notable U.S. sales exposure: Nel and Industrie De Nora. Lithium Demand for lithium — a key component in electric vehicle batteries — will be high for the foreseeable future and is expected outpace supply over the next decade, said Morningstar. On top of that, the firm said the impact of the climate bill will bolster the demand for lithium. It noted that the law provides subsidies for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids as long as they have a minimum proportion of critical minerals — including lithium — from the U.S. or its free trade partners. "We think this will benefit all lithium producers due to an increase in demand, which should keep the market undersupplied longer. This further bolsters our current view that the lithium market will remain undersupplied throughout the rest of the decade, which will push prices well above the marginal cost of production," the firm wrote. Morningstar said that many clean energy stocks are already fully valued to overvalued — but added that lithium producers have the potential for further upside. One global stock on its list is Chilean lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile — the world's largest lithium producer. Automakers, EV supply chain Morningstar says it sees opportunities in the electric vehicle supply chain. As for traditional automakers, it likes those that will be able to transition to EVs. It named Volkswagen and BMW . The firm also likes traditional auto suppliers that are well positioned to supply the EV makers. One name it picked is German auto parts maker Continental . — CNBC's Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.