World: from zero in 2010 to 2.3 million electric vehicles in 2020, the EV market needs more cobalt

The increasingly desired energy transition is an opportunity for several countries that produce cobalt, which is becoming an essential material in the manufacture of electric vehicles.

Manufacturers of electric vehicle (EV) batteries (a market that has grown from virtually nothing in 2010 to producing 2.3 million
vehicles in 2020, or 3.2% of the global vehicle market) need this metal .

EV sales, and therefore cobalt demand, are likely to increase significantly in the international market.

According to the relatively pessimistic forecast of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF), by 2025, EVs will represent 16% of all new passenger vehicle sales. By 2040, most vehicles sold will be EVs.

Additionally, depending on the pace of the global energy transition, cobalt demand could increase by 143-370% between 2020 and 2040.

In comparison, between 2000 and 2020, cobalt production increased by 320%, while copper production increased by 1,415%.

Future growth of 370% therefore seems reasonable.

However, in absolute terms and bearing in mind that not all metals can be renewed, this phenomenon implies the exploitation of 22 additional mines the size of Kamoto, the largest cobalt mine in the world at the moment. ‘actual hour.

Due to its criticality, cobalt is a resource with geopolitical implications.

Mining, processing and consuming countries are forging alliances and
creating rivalries to secure the supply of this metal.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where nearly 70% of the world’s cobalt is extracted, and China, which processes most of it, are at the heart of these maneuvers.

Currently, a ton of cobalt is trading around USD 81,690.00 in the international market over the past week.