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Search is on For Cobalt-Free Batteries As Metal Gets Increasingly Rare and Expensive (technologyreview.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Conamix, a little-known startup based in Ithaca, New York, has raised several million dollars to accelerate its development of cobalt-free materials for lithium-ion batteries, the latest sign that companies are eager to find alternatives to the increasingly rare and expensive metal. The problem: The price of cobalt has more than doubled in recent months, as global demand skyrockets for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and smartphones. It's also being driven up by the fact that the metal is mined primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where labor and corruption issues are rife. Earlier this year, the nation decided to raise royalties on cobalt and other metals.
Given the ambitious expansion plans of lithium-ion producers, the world will face cobalt shortages by the early 2020s, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This is keeping prices of lithium-ion batteries high and preventing major automakers from lining up long-term supply deals on favorable terms. The mounting threat to electric-vehicle growth has prompted a growing number of companies to explore other solutions.
Given the ambitious expansion plans of lithium-ion producers, the world will face cobalt shortages by the early 2020s, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This is keeping prices of lithium-ion batteries high and preventing major automakers from lining up long-term supply deals on favorable terms. The mounting threat to electric-vehicle growth has prompted a growing number of companies to explore other solutions.
Just so people know:
1) The "whistleblower" he refers to is the confessed sabateur.
2) The 9% was a mix of middle management and the being-phased-out Solar City sales division (Tesla's solar division is switching to an exclusive focus on solar roofing products). Tesla has long been criticized for spending too much on SG&A. But of course, expect the shorts to make a fuss when they make SG&A cuts too.
3) The "fire" was something suspicious smouldering in a vent. No impact to production. BTW, I love how you guys focus on every incident, no matter how minor, at Tesla, and completely ignore every issue at every other place, no matter how major. For example, at BMW's SC plant, a worker died from having his head crunched up by a lift. Did you even hear about it?
4) The "tent" is a Sprung building. Cheap, fast, and can last for decades. They're popular for athletic buildings, warehouses, hangars, military applications, mining, etc. There was even one at "Ground Zero" in New York after the terrorist attacks. Reno Tahoe Airport used one for ticketing / checkin / baggage for years.
Re, #2 and #4: please decide on whether you think Tesla is spending too much money or too little so that your arguments can be consistent. Thanks!
I was watching this thing on TV about some guy named Hitler. Someone should stop him!
In the short term, that's the way it is. But the DRC produces under 60% (still too much) of the world's supply, not 100%. Most other producers just make cobalt as a byproduct of copper and nickel.
Cobalt has other uses, pigment, alloying steel, 'superalloys' and matrix for tungsten-carbide. https://www.statista.com/stati...
8800 metric tons/year in the USA, 'Batteries' didn't even make the chart for end uses in 2015.
I agree, the DRC haven't started any world wars. We should just continue watching the Europeans, closely.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Wikipedia doesn't seem to agree with you:
"Although neodymium is classed as a rare earth, it is a fairly common element, no rarer than cobalt, nickel, or copper, and is widely distributed in the Earth's crust."
There does seem to be illegal mining going on in China, but that's not a problem with the element, per se.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...