Image of a battery glowing in neon
Source: Adobe Stock
The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) has joined a raft of industrial microcaps pivoting in recent years towards the US defence market as the global remilitarisation thematic rolls on – sending shares up around +10%.

While it might be strange to see a lithium company popping off, it’s not the lithium that really matters but rather what the company is trying to do: improve battery lithium tech.

For drones.

(That should make the jump make more sense.)

And now, Wednesday has graced the market with news Li-S Energy has just appointed a US defence advisor, an entity not an individual, to help navigate it into the US defence supply chain.

If that sounds familiar, we’re seeing a similar story play out from Locksley Resources right now. The appointment of a defence advisor was also where AML3D also started taking off.

Critical metals miners, and anything defence-adjacent, are currently the beneficiaries of a risk-on psychology, so long as they’re based in the US. And with Li-S Energy’s claim to be able to keep drones in the air for longer, the military applications are obvious.

(This, too, after the company claimed to be the first to produce lithium foils in Australia in recent history.)

So who’s the advisor? A company called Paladin Defence Services LLC.

“Based in Kentucky, Paladin is a defence services company headed by Roy ‘Chuck’ Waggoner, a former US Army brigade commander with extensive service in the 75th Ranger Regiment,” Li-S Energy wrote on Wednesday.

That, clearly, has been enough to do the trick.

LIS last traded at 17cps.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about LIS and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

LIS by the numbers
More From The Market Online
The words "Market Open ASX 200 Futures Tip FLAT" appear stacked atop one another next to ASX today company iconography.

ASX Market Open: Spluttering Oz shares not doing much of anything pre-holidays | Dec 16

ASX today – Australian shares are flat on Tuesday as CY25 trade now looks to close…
The Market Online Video

Market Close: ASX Ltd drops on ASIC $150M raise request; iron ore offsets gold bounceback

Good Afternoon and welcome to Market Close for Monday of Week 51, I’m Jon Davidson.
HotCopper Daily Market Trends Graphic

Monday’s HotCopper trends: Winsome, 4D Medical, and other daily topics | Dec 15

With more than seven million users on the HotCopper forums, every discussion and speculation can move Australian markets, which is why getting out in front
A dirt road running through the Antimony Canyon project in Utah.

American Tungsten and Antimony leaves ‘Trigg’ name behind to start next era (and set fresh focus)

American Tungsten and Antimony has entered a new era, leaving the name "Trigg Minerals" behind to…