China’s Largest EV Battery Manufacturer Wants to Move Beyond Cobalt

Image via CATL.

While Chinese companies are investing billions of dollars to build new cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a broader effort to control the global electric vehicle battery market, they’re also moving fast to develop new batteries that, in the future, won’t rely on the costly and controversial blue metal.

The fact that 68% of the world’s cobalt supply is concentrated in the DR Congo is problematic because it’s never a good idea to rely on a single country, especially one that is so poorly governed, for a strategically vital commodity. 

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by Eric Olander

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