Electric vehicle market will help double global demand for cobalt by 2025 (Glencore)
Electric vehicles are one of the most popular ways around the world to reduce the carbon footprint of transport. The boom in this sector will logically increase the demand for cobalt, a metal used for the production of batteries for these vehicles.
The world market for cobalt is expected to grow from an annual demand of 120 to 130,000 tonnes currently, to a demand of 240 to 260,000 tonnes by 2025. At least that is what Mining Weekly reports, quoting David Brocas, manager. of cobalt trading at the Swiss giant Glencore.
In a recent report by the investment bank Jefferies, the analyst estimated that the increase in global consumption of cobalt will be carried “clearly by electric vehicles”. This booming market thanks to climate ambitions indeed uses a lot of cobalt to produce electric batteries. The latter will therefore represent about half of global demand for cobalt by 2025, according to Brocas.
This is not the first time that analysts have predicted this boom in the sector, although those at Roskill remained more subdued last year, estimating that the cobalt market will only double in size by 2030.
It should be noted that the DRC will be one of the main beneficiaries of this market growth. By far the world’s largest producer, the Central African country is currently improving the management of the sector in order to put an end to criticism from human rights NGOs and guarantee its buyers responsibly produced cobalt.
