Mexican Media Brands
Cobalt Shortage Could Threaten EV Sales Plans
The auto industry’s plan to drastically boost its output of electrified cars could stumble over a shortage of cobalt needed for EV batteries, the Financial Times warns.
#economics #hybrid
Share
The auto industry’s plan to drastically boost its output of electrified cars could stumble over a shortage of cobalt needed for EV batteries, the Financial Times warns.
Cobalt prices have nearly doubled this year. Edinburgh-based energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. predicts global demand for cobalt in EV batteries will quadruple by 2020 and grow elevenfold by 2025.
Carmakers have been scrambling with little luck to lock in multi-year supplies of the metal, 60% of which is mined in the politically volatile Democratic Republic of Congo. Last month Volkswagen AG offered a relatively low fixed price for at least five years’ of supply but got no takers.
Traders point out that a continued run-up in cobalt prices will erode demand and prompt battery producers to search for a substitute material. Analysts tell FT they expect that producers and carmakers eventually will work out some sort of flexible-price supply scheme.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Global Supply of Automotive Fasteners from a Single Source
PennEngineering offers a global supply for a wide range of fasteners for the automotive industry, including China-based facilities that manufacture standard and custom products to world-class standards of quality at lower cost.
-
Multiple Choices for Light, High-Performance Chassis
How carbon fiber is utilized is as different as the vehicles on which it is used. From full carbon tubs to partial panels to welded steel tube sandwich structures, the only limitation is imagination.
-
When Automated Production Turning is the Low-Cost Option
For the right parts, or families of parts, an automated CNC turning cell is simply the least expensive way to produce high-quality parts. Here’s why.
