IBAT vs RNRG

IBATBiShares Energy Storage & Materials ETF

RNRGDGlobal X Renewable Energy Producers ETF

In short

IBAT Most EV funds buy carmakers. IBAT drops a layer down the supply chain to the batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells and storage materials underneath, tracking a global STOXX index at a fee that undercuts much of its thematic peer group.

RNRG Most clean-energy funds buy the factories. RNRG buys the power plants: roughly 40 global companies that generate and sell renewable electricity. A utility-flavored take on the theme, running since 2015.

Stated mandate

IBAT The fund seeks to track an index of global companies involved in battery technologies, hydrogen, fuel cells, and other energy-storage solutions. It provides targeted exposure to companies supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

RNRG The fund seeks investment results that generally track the price and yield performance of the Indxx Renewable Energy Producers Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• IBAT 0.47% a year, cheaper than Global X's DRIV (0.68%) and Amplify's BATT (0.59%).
• Buys the storage layer, not the showroom: battery technology, hydrogen, fuel cells and the materials that feed them.ishares.com
• Global mandate, roughly 80 holdings: miners, chemical firms and equipment makers a US large-cap index never touches.
• Sits in the upper tier of its battery and EV thematic group on our review.

• RNRG Owns the producers, not the plumbing: its index targets companies that generate and sell renewable power rather than panel and turbine manufacturers.
• One global basket of about 40 producers, so operators outside the US carry real weight instead of a token sleeve.
• Risk profile screens better than most of its clean-energy group, closer to contracted power operators than to boom-and-bust equipment makers.
• Trading since 2015, so it has lived through the theme's full boom and hangover rather than arriving at the peak.

Worth knowing

• IBAT One theme, one supply chain. Battery and materials demand drives the whole basket in the same direction at the same time.
• BlackRock applies business involvement screens, so the portfolio is a filtered slice of the industry rather than the full map.ishares.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and payouts come once or twice a year at most. Not an income holding.

• RNRG At 0.65% a year it prices above the middle of the clean-energy shelf, and broader peers such as ICLN and FRNW charge less for wider coverage.
• Small and thinly traded, so spreads can be wide and size takes patience to work through.
• Producers-only and roughly 40 names: it moves differently from broad clean-energy indexes that lean on manufacturers and tech.

Full IBAT profile⁠

Full RNRG profile⁠