I hope you and your family are having a wonderful holiday.

The New Year is quickly approaching, and here at Street Authority, I’ve been thinking hard about my predictions for 2024.

All this week and last week I’ve been sharing my favorite forecasts for the next 12 months. Today I’ve got two more for you.

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Revolutionary Batteries Will Usher in a New Future for Energy

Everyone tends to take batteries for granted — until they get down to 1% power.

It’s remarkable how much use we can get out of just an hour of recharging time. That’s plenty enough to partake in another round of shopping on a phone or to stream a few shows on a tablet.

Much of the credit goes to lithium, which is the lightest of all metals and has twice the energy storage density of previous chemistries such as nickel-cadmium. That’s an ideal combination for battery makers.

Battery advancements haven’t just improved our electronic devices but also made possible the wide range of cordless electric power tools you now see on the shelves at Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD). I’ve got a Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) electric chainsaw on my Christmas list this year.

Lithium batteries can even carry a car or truck a few hundred miles in between charges.

But think bigger. I’m talking megawatt big.

We are in the early stages of a major breakthrough in battery technology. And unlike lithium (which is scarce and expensive), this one is built around iron, the fourth most common material on the planet. (Needless to say, iron isn’t combustible like lithium, either.)

Iron-air batteries are relatively compact (about the size of your average household washing machine). They contain dozens of iron-air cells surrounded by electrolytes that turn ordinary iron into iron oxide rust, a process that gives off energy. The charging process works in reverse.

I’ll leave the specifics to the engineers. If you’re interested, Popular Mechanics has published a concise piece covering some of the more technical aspects. Suffice it to say that NASA has been experimenting with and perfecting this technology since the 1960s. And the results are nothing short of extraordinary.

Iron-air batteries are 10 times cheaper than other lithium substitutes — and they last 17 times longer. This could have huge implications for the power grid.

Renewable energy is great, but what happens when the wind subsides or the sun goes down?

Lithium batteries are fine for four or five hours. But banks of these iron-based batteries can help store power for three to four days. PBS says these next-gen batteries can “fill gaps” in renewable power storage and transmission. S&P says they can “break lithium’s lock” on the green energy transition.

A startup created by some of the brightest minds from MIT is now planning to commercialize this technology.

The future is closer than you think. The company has ambitious plans to commence large-scale production at a specialized factory in West Virginia next year. It is bankrolling this idea to the tune of $760 million (not counting government tax credits and other incentives).

You might not be shocked to learn that forward-thinking venture capitalists such as Bill Gates are already on board.

It’s called Form Energy. But you won’t find the company listed on any stock exchange. It’s still a private entity.

Fortunately, there is a way to get in on the ground floor. Accredited investors who meet certain income and net worth requirements can gain pre-IPO access through a platform called Forge Global. You can find more information here.

If that doesn’t work for you, don’t worry. I’ve found a Plan B. Another developer named ESS Tech (NYSE: GWH) is working on similar long-duration batteries for large-scale utility and industrial storage. It harnesses a slightly different iron-flow technology but has many of the same raw material cost advantages and favorable industry growth catalysts.

And it conveniently trades on the NYSE, backed by large institutional investors such as Honeywell (NYSE: HON)

Source: ESS Tech

While this advance is still in the nascent stages, ESS is already commissioning projects and generating real revenues — about $4.7 million so far this year.

That’s an increase of nearly 700%. But it’s still just a drop in the bucket compared to the untapped potential, as billions in CapEx (capital expenditure) spending are needed to address the world’s growing battery storage needs.

ESS Tech just signed one supply contract with a utility district in Sacramento and another with a large European airport. With a healthier balance sheet and an optimistic outlook, GWH is poised to revisit former highs above $2.50 reached earlier in the year, implying triple-digit upside potential.

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Pot Stocks Will Get a Big Bump From Washington

It happened in Missouri. And then in Maryland.

In state after state, pro-marijuana ballot initiatives have won the support of voters. The recreational and medicinal drug has now been at least partially legalized in 44 states covering 93% of the U.S. population.

Source: Statista

Times are changing.

And this movement is about to take a big step forward.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently made a bombshell announcement. The agency formally recommended that cannabis be moved from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (with drugs with high potential for abuse and no medicinal value) to the much less restrictive Schedule III.

This marks the first time that a government agency has openly endorsed a re-classification of cannabis. If the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) accepts the recommendation, Section 280e of the IRS tax code will no longer apply to marijuana businesses.

As it stands, Section 280e prevents cannabis companies from claiming the deductions available to other businesses. It’s the single biggest drain on the industry.

This regulatory shift could have a huge impact on bottom lines across the industry — and Wall Street stock valuations will adjust accordingly.

Reclassification could also loosen lending, which is notoriously tight among this group (with interest rates that can reach 40%). It could also promote more trading volume and liquidity for these stocks.

A win-win-win.

If this scenario comes to pass, you’ll want to be holding WM Technology (NSDQ: MAPS), a staunch open-access advocate that has been at the vanguard of recent societal changes.

The software developer has built an online marketplace where consumers and retailers can interact. Think of it as the “Amazon of Pot.” Customers can display their wares and edit pricing in real time.

The company now has more than 5,000 active retail clients — with average quarterly revenues per client approaching the $10,000 mark.

If that’s not incentive enough, consider that WM Technology is also positioned at the lucrative intersection where cannabis meets artificial intelligence (AI). Among other applications, the company’s novel AI tools can aid with everything from custom product recommendations to biotechnology research.

For more interesting ways to play the coming “Green Wave,” check out the work of our colleague John Persinos.

John Persinos is your ultimate guide to profiting from the marijuana industry. As John explains in his latest presentation, everything we’ve seen so far is just the start of the multibillion-dollar windfall set to line investors’ pockets.

Click here to learn more now.