With the US Energy Department stating on Tuesday that retail gasoline sales are likely to hit the $4 mark this summer, renewable energy has never been such a hot topic. While the need to become more eco-friendly seems to have driven the first wave of investment in the space, the need to get to work may drive the next.

Some battery-powered motor scooters on the market today can travel about 100 miles at 55 MPH on just $.75 worth of electricity versus the $10 of gasoline that would be required to power an economy car. In response to this trend and also the harsh reality that the the dollar of the US consumer is now spread thinner than ever before, investors appear quite eager to buy into the battery-power craze.

So eager, in fact that many are willing to shell out big bucks for companies boasting elite battery-powered vehicles, but also carrying with them exorbitant operating losses while having a dandy of a time making a sale.

Vectrix Corp: Commanding a Premium Despite Sharp Losses

Vectrix Corporation, trades on the London exchange under the symbol “VCF“. The company is an emerging manufacturer and distributor of two-wheeled zero emission vehicles (”ZEV”).

A private R&D house for 11 years, VCF entered the public arena in 2007 and subsequently kicked off production and sales efforts. The company has also recently launched an impressive promotional campaign that has helped to significantly expand notoriety for its brand.

Shares now trade in the $9 range (British Pounds), or about $20 USD. The only problem is that the company has more than 260,000,000 shares out in the market today and recently reported a loss of nearly $54M (USD) for 2007 on revenues of $819,000. Sure, major institutions (Morgan Stanley and others) hold ownership, but is this really where you want to put your 20-spot given today’s economic environment?

Although the company does indeed hold a great deal of future potential, recent performance has been less than stellar. At roughly $20 USD per share, I’d say that the stock carries with it a pretty high level of risk. With all of the hoopla surrounding renewable energy and battery-powered vehicles, there appear to be other, less risky, ventures out there doing more or less the same thing that trade at a massive discount to VCF and may also carry less risk.

EMOT: More Bang For Your Buck!

Electric Moto Corporation (OTCPK: EMOT) is one of them. Founded by the principal designer of the world record holder for the most number of miles completed by an electric car (the GM battery-swap proof of concept car) EMOT is a rapidly emerging developer of low environmental impact, lithium-ion battery powered motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

The Blade has attracted attention from some very reputable media outlets to date, one of them being Forbes Magazine. In a 9/17/07 article, writer Patrick Cooke had this to say about EMOT’s Blade XTZ model:

“. . .an astonishingly quick, battery-powered motorbike called the Blade XTZ that equals or outperforms every gas-powered bike in its weight class (200cc–250cc). Best of all, it does so without making a sound”. . . “No high-pitched engine whine, no choking blue smoke, no teeth-grinding vibration. And at 178 pounds, it’s 25 to 50 pounds lighter and creates more torque (250 pounds) than most of its competition.”

Net-Net

Once full production funding is met, the company will begin mass-manufacturing their Blade XT4 battery-powered electric motor bike. Just like the boys at Vectrix, EMOT executives have been hard at work over the past decade plus, developing products that rival or outperform all gas guzzling models in their respective classes.

The big difference here though, may start with the business plan. Electric Moto plans to yield much more than $800K in revenues from its first capital injection, while it’s taken Vectrix more than $54M to make about $800K (they also lost about $24M in ‘06 on Zero sales).

Furthermore, EMOT has nearly 1/4 of the shares outstanding (65M) and trades at a massive discount to VCF (about $.10 per share). Shares traded up nearly 50% on Tuesday on decent volume and appear to be making a move back up towards their 52-Week high of $.55. If the stock trades at anywhere near the valuation of competitor Vectrix over the near to mid-term, we could be looking at a significantly undervalued opportunity here folks. Possibly by as much as $10 or $20!

With IDTechEx pegging the global electric vehicle market to grow from $16.1B in ‘05 to $227B by 2015 and astronomical gasoline prices making travel, necessity or otherwise, cost preventative, products such as those offered by EMOT have perhaps never been so timely. As shares of the company’s direct competitors demand a premium in the market today on less than strong financials, now may be a great time to roll up you sleeves and conduct some due diligence on EMOT before the sales dollars begin trickling in.