Limited Availability of Cobalt Might Bring Electric Car Revolution To A Halt

With all the major car companies making a shift towards electric vehicles, a possible roadblock in the near future can be a silvery metal known by the name of Cobalt. Why? Well, Cobalt is the crucial element used in the lithium-ion batteries powering these electric vehicles.

Since forever, lithium-ion batteries have been powering most of the battery run gadgets used the world over. With the rise of electric vehicles and the corresponding increase in the size of the batteries needed for them, a new challenge, one of the limited availability of the element arises. Not at the moment, but for sure in the near future.

That does not deter the car companies from pursuing their EV targets though. As per a recent Bloomberg report, BMW ¡°does not see the risk of a bottleneck in its cobalt supply chain,¡± as mentioned by the company¡¯s spokesman Kai Zoebelein.

Even GM is very confident in this matter, with Katie Minter, spokeswoman for GM division Chevrolet, stating that it can deliver, ¡°Based on future forecasting discussions with our suppliers,¡± as quoted in the same Bloomberg Environment report.

BMW i3 (Reuters)

The rise in demand of the metal can already be seen though, with the corresponding increase in its price. The commodity has seen its price doubling to date since the end of 2016. If this rise in demand continues, even at a minimal rate (considering advancements in battery technology), this will lead to a shortage of supply of the metal by as early as 2025, as per a recent projection by the Joint Research Centre.

As the governments around the world set the stage for electric vehicles, because of both - to eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels and to bring down their carbon footprint, the shift towards EVs might be hindered due to the shortage of Cobalt, more so, sooner than the world expects it.

As of now, more than 60 percent of world¡¯s Cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo. China has been hugely proactive in procuring these reserves and this also falls in line with the country¡¯s push towards EVs, as the it currently enjoys being the largest manufacturer and user of EVs and lithium-ion batteries alike.

Copper and Cobalt mine in Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters)

Solution

But as the metal proceeds towards exhaustion, things might change. And to avoid this scenario, battery companies are actively working towards using other elements as an alternative. A mentionable one being worked towards is a solid-state battery that promises better efficiency than the lithium-ion one.

Another solution is to re-use the existing batteries for other purposes, including powering homes through renewable energy sources. Many companies are also exploring how to better recycle the batteries once they lose their efficiency. To know more on this, click here.