Britishvolt pushes to secure responsibly sourced cobalt
Developing UK battery producer Britishvolt has signed up to the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA), indicating its commitment to using responsible cobalt sourced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as it builds up its operations.
Britishvolt previously signed a strategic partnership with Glencore, one of the world’s largest cobalt producers, which mines most of its cobalt in the DRC. Glencore is also a key member of the FCA, along with other large companies in the EV supply chain including Tesla, China Molybdenum Corporation, China’s CATL and Volvo.
“By joining the FCA we are aiming to reduce environmental impact, improve working conditions for miners and support action that redirects children to school and education in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Craig Woodburn, Britishvolt’s head of ESG.
The FCA “drives the development of fair cobalt by supporting the professionalisation of ASM [artisanal and small-scale mining] site management”. Members are expected to ensure uptake of responsible mining practices and channel investment into mine improvements.
Artisanal mining in the DRC has been subject to scrutiny amid longstanding concerns about human rights and child labour. An Amnesty International report in January 2016 estimated there were around 110,000-150,000 artisanal miners in the cobalt producing region of the DRC, while UNICEF estimated in 2014 that approximately 40,000 children worked in mines across the DRC.
The findings led many downstream buyers to try to exclude DRC cobalt from their supply chains in recent years, including most publicly BMW, which said it would exclude DRC cobalt in its 2020-2021 purchasing.
Since those reports, several initiatives have been set up to try to improve standards at ASM sites, including the FCA and the Cobalt Institute’s Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework. Market participants in the EV supply chain have slowly realised they cannot exclude DRC cobalt indefinitely from their raw materials.
“It is a bold step for a company starting out to make this commitment,” said Dr Assheton Carter, FCA executive director.
