What if China corners the cobalt market?
Nickel could make a good substitute—provided car batteries don’t catch fire
COBALT derives its name from Kobold, a mischievous German goblin who, according to legend, lurks underground. For centuries it vexed medieval miners by looking like a valuable ore that subsequently turned into worthless—and sometimes noxious—rubble. Once again it is threatening to cause trouble, this time in the growing market for batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), each of which uses about 10kg of cobalt. The source of mischief is no longer in Germany, though, but in China.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Goblin metals”
Finance & economics
March 24th 2018- What if China corners the cobalt market?
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