The Case for Cobalt

Hi there, hope you've all been doing well during this scorching July.

Today, we'll highlight an important and mostly undiscussed issue in the fight against climate: Cobalt.

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Before we dive into the week's topic, let's check out some recent climate tech media:

• Nirva Labs' blog on how robots can help with climate change is an interesting dive into the world of hardware; there are some seriously incredible applications for robots in the field of climate adaptation and mitigation

• CTVC's midyear update for venture funding in the climate space is a great breakdown of what sectors are experiencing an influx of capital, what the outliers are, and more.

The Case for Cobalt: A Defining Metal for the 21st Century?

There are a plethora of technologies that need to be deployed at scale in order to decarbonize our global economy. One of these technologies is the lithium ion battery, known for its capacity to harbor a great deal of energy in a light and compact product.

The first rechargeable lithium ion battery was patented in the 70's, and subsequent production of them ramped up in the 90's as manufacturers began inserting them into small electronics products - phones, camcorders, etc.

If you've ever used a smart phone or laptop, then you've used a lithium ion battery.

But as one of the largest consumer electronics product categories continues to grow, electric vehicles, the demand for lithium ion batteries continues to outstrip the supply of its core ingredients.

Electric vehicles are a large component of decarbonizing the transportation industry, which as of this writing, comprises close to 12% (or 36 billion metric tons) of the world's carbon emissions.

The lithium ion battery includes other metals, both rare and widely found, that make these batteries efficient and economical - nickel, cobalt, among others.

Today, we're talking about just one of those components, cobalt, a mineral found in only a few places on earth. Regardless of its known rarity, you can find traces of cobalt in products you use every day. Perhaps it's why the price of cobalt continues to fluctuate.

FYI: This topic would normally include a bunch of scientific literature. As you know with this newsletter, I have not studied electrochemistry and know little to none about battery technology. This is just a summarization of ideas.

You might be wondering what the scientific reason for the use of cobalt in batteries is. To keep it simple:

The mineral cobalt is known for its hue, as noted by the aptly name "blue" color. Historically, cobalt was used by indigenous tribes for the purpose of dyeing clothes. However, with rising demand for the raw material, cobalt production in the modern day will need to be ramped up to levels not seen ever before.

While cobalt was seen as a great choice for Lithium ion batteries in the early days, many see our dependence on the metal, in addition to economic and moral issues, as a major flaw in the design.

Geopolitically speaking, governments like the US and China do not have large reserves of the metal, and the extraction of the raw material is concentrated in just a handful of countries.

Just one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is home to between 60-70% of the known quantities of cobalt worldwide. Governments and battery companies alike see this as a financial risk and are beginning to invest heavily into R&D projects that reduce the cobalt content of their batteries. We'll talk about this newer tech later on.

How much cobalt exists in the world?

Cobalt is frequently found as a secondary product in copper and nickel mining. Current reserve estimates put cobalt at 7.6 million metric tons. In comparison, over 700 million metric tons of copper has been produced in human history.

With projected demand of electric vehicles to be in the tens of millions by 2030, and other use cases of lithium ion batteries like robots and battery storage, production of cobalt will need to scale exponentially.

And while mining all minerals emits less than 1% of all GHG emissions worldwide, it will soon increase with this increased demand in rare earth minerals.

Cobalt has a shady history

As previously stated, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to almost 70% of cobalt production globally. But this isn't without an ethical dilemma.

There are a few large, multinational mining companies from the US and China ramping up production, however, a large portion of the mining comes from smaller groups, known as "artisanal" mining companies. Around 250,000 people rely on this economic activity in order to survive.

These smaller groups aren't under regulatory scrutiny, as they work with shadow brokers to supply the metal.

A quarter of the cobalt extracted in the Congo is sold to the black market through these brokers. This means a lack of oversight resulting in extremely hazardous conditions and tons of unreported violations of human rights and labor practices - child labor, dangerous working conditions, reproductive health issues, and more. 

While companies in the DRC are digging it up, one country continues to purchase it a larger scale than the rest - China. They have the most refining capacity in the world for the substance, and continue to invest heavily into lithium ion battery production.

Additionally, they are home to the largest lithium ion battery producer, CATL, who have stakes in cobalt production faculties across the Congo.

Despite that, cobalt is just a small piece of the overall story for rare earth minerals in the 21st century.

Replacing cobalt is key

While we don't currently have the scale of newer technologies to source cobalt in more ethical ways, there are a handful of companies testing new battery designs (CATL, auto OEMs like Tesla, and more) that don't use cobalt, or even nickel, at all. These are right on the horizon and show promise for a cobalt-free future.

Whether you're on the side of national security interests or human rights impacts, going cobalt-free seems to be the right way to go.

Thanks for reading this week. If you enjoyed the topic, please share this with people who might be interested!

Take care,

Matt from Green Era