A new lithium war is about to begin

FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC) founded in 1883, FMC has been around the block and back. FMC has a long history stretching between many different industries, but within all of them, FMC has remained a leader in innovation.

FMC's involvement in the lithium industry is particularly notable. The company is one of the top three in lithium and associated technologies. It is one of the largest suppliers into electric vehicle applications using lithium hydroxide.

Strong growth in lithium is expected to drive margins for FMC and major expansion, leading analysts to give it an outperform rating. The company's full year 2016 results were impressive, with lithium segment earnings of $21 million—up an amazing 90 percent from Q4 2015.

Magna International (TSX:MG) (NYSE:MGA) is based in Aurora, Ontario. The global automotive supplier is gutsy and innovative--and definitely tuned to the obvious future--clean transportation. A great catalyst is its development of a combo electric/hydrogen vehicle--a fuel cell range-extended EV (FCREEV). It's not going to produce them (for now, at least) but plans to use the model to show off its engineering and design prowess and produce elements of the electric drivetrain and contract manufacturing.

The company's auto parts are distributed to heavyweights such as General Motors, Ford, Tesla, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen and Chrysler. These huge deals provide a safe and steady profit stream for the company. It's insightful, forward-thinking and smart value/low cost for shareholders.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA): No large cap company has dazzled over the past couple of years like Tesla, which overtook giant GM this year in market cap—a major, unexpected feat. Tesla is the future, and its stock price agrees.

Tesla's electric cars will eventually be more profitable than traditional cars, and easier to produce. Costs will keep coming down, especially now that Tesla's has launched its battery gigafactory in Nevada, and when it gets battery (and lithium) prices down.

It is entirely feasible that Tesla will be selling over 2 million cars annually in less 6-7 years from now.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a household name. GM was born at the turn of the 20^thcentury and has been a leading innovator in the automotive industry ever since. Even though it's been surpassed in market cap by Tesla (of all companies), it is still the furthest ahead of the Big 3 car makers from Detroit in terms of EVs and self-driving cars.

Recently, GM acquired Cruise Automation—a self-driving car company, and it seems determined to forge ahead even faster to play catch-up with the future. Additionally, GM is a leader in the booming electric vehicle market. As countries across the world begin to pass regulations on combustion engines, GM stands to gain significantly as an early adopter in the EV game.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG): With a market cap of over $657 billion, this is the second-largest by market capitalization in the S&P 500. We love Alphabet because its foundation is intellectual property—not tangible assets.

Oh, and self-driving cars … definitely a huge part of the innovation in energy and artificial intelligence. As an early entry into the self-driving car world, Alphabet's innovations have paved the way for a transportation revolution

Alphabet is set to continue to bring value to its investors and even as one of the largest companies in the S&P 500, Google's parent company continues to reach new heights.

By. James Stafford