Just as the Middle East was once a strategic hub in global oil politics, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the epicenter for the raw materials needed for electric vehicles – especially cobalt.
The country is the source of more than two-thirds of the world’s cobalt, according to New York Times—An outbreak that produced something unlike a gold rush in that African country, along with some continued concern about social and environmental collateral damage.
A recent visit by NYT and its podcasts The Daily provide a impression of what that economy looks like—Offering everything from large-scale mining operations to literally “freelance” cobalt miners shoveling dirt out of the ground. And yet, many of the larger operations are controlled by China.
Cobalt is an essential material for lithium-ion batteries commonly used in modern electric vehicles, and as the US Department of Energy recently pointed out, it typically accounts for about a quarter of a battery’s total cost.
EV battery cathode material price trend, 2010-2021 – US DOE
After a spike to $40 per pound in 2018, from what had been in the $10 to $15 range in previous years, cobalt prices have been falling for several years, and now they’re almost as high. – to about $37 per pound last week.
That’s a key factor in why analysts now expect that The increase in EV battery affordability is on hold—Possibly until 2024 or even later.
Meanwhile, the power struggle over cobalt in that country has “disturbed the clean energy revolution,” according to the NYT, as U.S. interests have helped develop and oversee the cobalt market for many years. decades, in part with strategic support from the US government, began selling their stake in China right at the height of the electric vehicle surge.
![Child labor in wolframite and casserite mines, Kailo, DRC, by Julien Harneis, 2007 [CC BY-SA 2.0]](https://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/child-laborers-in-wolframite-and-casserite-mine-kailo-drc-by-julien-harneis-2007-cc-by-sa-2-0_100635527_l.jpg "Child labor in wolframite and casserite mines, Kailo, DRC, by Julien Harneis, 2007 [CC BY-SA 2.0]")
Child labor in wolframite and casserite mines, Kailo, DRC, by Julien Harneis, 2007 [CC BY-SA 2.0]
The US government has let that happen in what trend-watchers have described as a distraction to the obsession with oil resources.
This sale of control of cobalt to China happened as recently as under the Trump administration — just before widespread political awareness of the situation began with a review by the USGS and Commerce Department. under that government. The Biden administration has moved strengthen raw materials for US-made electric vehicle supply chain.
Most of a decade ago, when Tesla was planning its Nevada Gigafactory, it discovered it can’t have enough power lithium, cobalt, graphite and other key materials from US suppliers.
Tesla Battery Day Vertical Integration Overview
That’s part of the reason why Tesla-and such, Rivian—Switched to lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells that do not rely on cobalt or nickel at the expense of driving range. Ironically, given China’s control over the cobalt market, this is the cellular chemical that Chinese automakers have chosen to popularize and mass-produce in their home markets, while the West is increasingly dependent on resources under the control of Chinese resource suppliers.
Nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) are the two most common chemistries for EV lithium-ion batteries. Tesla is also looking to boost the abundance of manganese in its cells – potentially extending its strained cobalt supply further. And sodium ion cells — potentially farther away — offer the ability to evade lithium, another U.S. resource. maintained production — in the past.
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