Vulcan Energy Breaks Ground on Lionheart Geothermal Plant as Shares Languish Near Record Lows
Published on 07/27/2026 at 02:51 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The first bulldozers have moved onto a ten-hectare site in Landau, marking the start of civil construction for Vulcan Energy’s Lionheart geothermal and lithium project. The Australian-listed developer (ASX:VUL) is now shifting from planning and financing into physical execution on its flagship development in the Upper Rhine Valley, with CEO Cris Moreno confirming the project remains on schedule.
The facility, planned for the Südost exhibition grounds in Landau, will house a 30-megawatt geothermal power station with an expected operational lifespan of three decades. Beyond electricity generation, the plant is designed to extract lithium hydroxide — Vulcan is targeting an annual output of 24,000 tonnes, with first commercial production pencilled in for 2028.
That timeline puts the company squarely in a capital-intensive build phase, and the financial strain is showing in the numbers. Vulcan recorded a net loss of roughly €69.6 million in fiscal 2025, widening sharply from the €42.4 million loss a year earlier. Revenue of €7.35 million came almost entirely from the company’s existing geothermal operations in the Upper Rhine Graben, underscoring the gap between current earnings and the investment required to transform Vulcan from a pure energy producer into an integrated lithium supplier.
The funding side, however, is largely in place. A €2.2 billion financing package agreed in May — backed by the European Investment Bank with a €250 million contribution — has cleared its conditions for the first drawdown, which Vulcan confirmed on July 15. The company also held roughly €364.3 million in cash as of March 31, providing a cushion to keep construction moving without an immediate need to tap equity markets. On the offtake front, contracts with Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault, Umicore and LG Energy Solution already line up customers for the battery-grade lithium hydroxide the plant will eventually produce.
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Yet the market is paying little attention to these operational milestones. Vulcan’s shares closed at €1.61 on Friday, barely 0.31 percent above the 52-week low of €1.60 set on July 24. The stock has shed more than a third of its value since the start of the year. The relative strength index sits at 29.5, deep in oversold territory — a technical signal that the selling pressure of recent weeks has already been largely absorbed, though it has done nothing to stem the decline.
The disconnect between project progress and share price performance is stark. The ground-breaking in Landau, which follows the start of main construction at the central lithium chemicals plant in Frankfurt’s Industriepark Höchst in April, represents a tangible step forward. But investor sentiment remains subdued, weighed down by macro headwinds and the capital-intensive nature of geothermal-lithium developments, where value creation only becomes visible once production begins in 2028.
The broader geothermal sector is enjoying a moment of renewed interest. In the United States, Ormat Technologies has returned to enhanced geothermal systems alongside partners including SLB and Sage Geosystems, while the US Department of Energy has set a target of 90 gigawatts of domestic geothermal capacity by 2050, up from just 3.9 gigawatts today. That growing policy and technological tailwind supports the industry narrative, but for Vulcan, near-term fortunes hinge entirely on smooth execution at Landau and the ability to hit its 2028 production target.
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The next major test comes on July 30, when Vulcan reports its quarterly results. The market will be watching closely to see whether operational progress on Lionheart — and the financial discipline to fund it — can finally shift the narrative. For a stock trading a hair’s breadth above its lowest level in a year, the stakes are plain: hold the €1.60 floor, or watch the slide continue on the long road to first lithium.
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