Vulcan Energy Ends the Week Higher as Goldman Sachs Ups Its Bet and Lionheart's Timeline Stretches to 2028

Vulcan Energy closed at EUR 1.09, up 4.1%, as Goldman Sachs enlarged its holding and founder Francis Wedin cut his stake to 1.98%.

Vulcan Energy's shares closed Friday at EUR 1.09, a gain of 4.1 percent, yet the advance owed nothing to company-specific news. Instead, the move unfolded against a broader recovery on Australia's ASX, even as lithium equities as a group continued to struggle. The rebound offered shareholders only brief relief: a day earlier, the stock had touched a fresh 52-week low of EUR 1.04.

Attention over recent weeks has centered less on the daily tape than on who is buying. Filings show The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has enlarged its position in the project developer, crossing a disclosure threshold on September 17. The US investment bank's reported holding splits into two parts — 0.11 percent of voting rights held directly in shares, and 5.08 percent tied to financial instruments. Just days before, Goldman Sachs had already cleared the five-percent reporting mark.

Founder's Stake Slips Below Two Percent

The register has shifted on the selling side as well. A mandatory disclosure revealed that Francis Wedin reduced his voting rights from 4 percent to 1.98 percent following a share sale, dropping beneath the relevant threshold on September 24.

Analysts, for their part, remain constructive. On September 29, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed its positive stance, keeping a "Buy" rating and an unchanged price target of GBX 308.

VULSORB Output Begins, but Lionheart's Columns Wait Until 2028

Operationally, Vulcan Energy has pressed ahead on schedule. Roughly two weeks ago, the company launched commercial production of VULSORB, its proprietary lithium extraction adsorbent, in Germany — a step that has since coincided with a 20.2 percent decline in the share price. The initial batches are destined for the extraction columns at the Lionheart project, and manufacturing of those first volumes is expected to run over a period of 18 to 24 months.

Commissioning of the full plant is targeted for the second half of 2028. That leaves a multi-year development stretch during which the technology must prove itself in continuous industrial operation — a phase in which large-scale projects of this kind routinely run into technical and organizational snags. The financing and construction of Lionheart were themselves in the spotlight about three weeks ago, a period over which the stock has shed 32.4 percent.

Other directional moves have come in quick succession. The Ilka license for lithium extraction was granted roughly three weeks ago, and a leadership change in the supervisory body took place around the same time.

What the Market Is Waiting For

The broader climate for would-be lithium producers remains one of marked restraint, with investors increasingly focused on whether industrial timelines can actually be met and whether technical processes are sufficiently de-risked. For Vulcan Energy, the immediate priority is hitting its next operational milestones one by one. Until the main plant's final commissioning draws nearer, trading in the stock is likely to stay tethered to the steady realization of individual project phases — and to proof that lithium can be extracted on a durable, long-term basis.