18/08/2020
The mineral cobalt is key to the making of lithium batteries used in electric vehicles, and the sourcing of it is a complicated matter with significant costs—including human rights violations and environmental degradation. According to author Bianca Nogrady, “The increasing demand for cobalt to underpin the energy transition has brought [these issues] to international attention. That’s why there’s now renewed focus from end users, such as tech companies and consumers, on the cobalt supply chain, with some of the biggest tech companies in the world encouraged to do their due diligence on the cobalt they include in their products and make sure that they are able to trace that cobalt through the entire supply chain and ensure it is responsibly sourced.”
Nogrady traces the complex route cobalt travels from source to end-user, pointing to some of the tools—including Life Cycle Assessment and Transition Minerals Tracker—being used to clean up the supply chain for the betterment of human and environmental health.
The upshot is improved efforts to recycle lithium ion batteries and their composites, which has led to investment in a pilot plant called the ReCell Center, where cost-effective ways to reclaim lithium and cobalt from batteries are being studied.
