Britain's clean energy sector enjoyed its strongest performance and made a first quarterly return since 2021 at the start of this year, according to analysts.
In the three months to March, the average returns on shares across the UK's new energy and clean technology sector hit 6.1%, noted Panmure Gordan.
Clean hydrogen and fuel cell firms were among the quarter’s strongest performers, boasting average gains of 12.2%.
Within this sub-sector, Clean Power Hydrogen PLC (AIM:CPH2) and AFC Energy PLC (AIM:AFC, OTC:AFGYF) lead the way after rising 51.1% and 10.2% respectively.
Electrification firms faced the weakest performance meanwhile, climbing by 1.4% on average due to concern that global electric vehicle sales had slowed in recent months.
“They are not,” Panmure Gordan argued, pointing to a 69% jump in EV sales in January, followed by 28% growth in February, when almost a fifth of new cars purchased were electric.
“[This is] not exactly what we would term weak growth,” the broker added.
That said, some firms in the electrification sub-sector still enjoyed a strong quarter, with Panmure highlighting battery material recycler Technology Minerals PLC (LSE:TM1), which climbed 44.4%.
Waste-to-energy firms also generated double-digit returns despite UK companies such as Johnson Matthey PLC (LSE:JMAT) and Renewi PLC (LSE:RWI) still being relatively small compared to foreign rivals.