The Global Race for Cobalt

What is Cobalt and why is it increasingly important?

Cobalt is a chemical element found in the Earth’s crust and has been used by different

societies around the world since ancient times. It was historically used since antiquity [1] for

the colouring and dyeing of different materials, however it wasn’t until 1735 when it was

actually chemically isolated by the Swedish chemist Georg Brandt. This timeless element has

in recent years found itself at the height of global controversy, regarding practises around

its extraction, monopolies and its high technological utility in an increasingly technical

world.

Cobalt has a variety of crucial uses in today’s world. Cobalt is used in jet turbines and in gas

turbine generators, it is also heavily used in the manufacturing of magnets and as a as drying

agents for paints and inks. These are just a few of its main utilities and the use cases for

cobalt continue to grow, as the metal is known for its high-temperature resilience, energy

storage capabilities, hardness, process efficiency, and more [2]. More relevant though, is the

primary role that Cobalt plays in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

Nowadays, billions of people have either a mobile phone, laptop or both, and all of the

latest versions of these gadgets use lithium-ion batteries. Now couple this with the fact that

all major Electric Vehicle (EV) producers have started to use Lithium batteries, accounting to

over half of the produced cobalt today being used for electric vehicle batteries. Knowing this

it clear see the reason why we now see a global race for Cobalt unfolding.