Here are two top penny stocks I’d happily spend £10k on right now. Each costs less than £1 to buy. And both have a market capitalisation of below £100m.

Alternative Income REIT

Price: 84.2p per share
Market-cap: £68.1m

I think buying property stocks could be a good idea during this period of high inflation. I also believe investing in Alternative Income REIT (LSE: AIRE) in particular could be an effective way for me to go about this.

Real estate businesses are a classic safe-haven when prices are rising sharply. The underlying assets of property shares tend to rise in value in inflationary environments. So do the rents they charge tenants, keeping revenues rising nicely.

I like Alternative Income because of its status as a real estate investment trust (REIT). This means at least 90% of annual profits must be distributed to investors by way of dividends. As a consequence, dividends often come in on the big side, which can greatly reduce the impact of inflation on my wealth.

This investment trust isn’t exactly immune to these difficult economic conditions. Some of its tenants like retailers and industrial firms could suffer as broader consumer spending slumps. Still, I think the company’s large exposure to stable sectors like healthcare, education and utilities helps reduce the danger this poses to profits.

Savannah Resources

Price: 4.1p per share
Market-cap: £70.9m

Savannah Resources (LSE: SAV) could be a great way for me to make big money from the electric vehicle (EV) boom of the next decade.

It owns the Barroso lithium spodumene project in Portugal, an asset which could play a critical role in the EV battery supply chain. Barroso contains some 27 million tonnes of lithium, making it the largest lithium mine in Western Europe.

Savannah applied for environmental approval at Barroso more than two years ago. But it is still waiting for Portuguese authorities to give the go-ahead for work to begin. The business remains a long way from initial production and its balance sheet may need reinforcing if it doesn’t start mining soon. This could come by placing more shares or by raising debt.

This is a normal part of investing in smaller mining companies however. And, in my opinion, the potentially-colossal benefits of owning this lithium stock still make it an attractive buy.

Analysts at Statista think global lithium demand will hit 2.1m tonnes by 2030 as EV sales explode. That compares with 559,000 tonnes it predicts for 2022. The prices that Savannah charges for its lithium could be exceptionally strong too if, as many predict, material shortages develop towards the end of the decade.