Substitute will not dampen cobalt demand

Cobalt is vital for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, but research shows that cobalt can result in oxygen release at high voltage, which damages the batteries. Moreover, the vast majority of the world’s cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which presents security of supply concerns. Consequently, while efforts continue to find a substitute for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries, reagent experts Axis House sales manager Carina Claassen stresses that cobalt is still required for many other processes such as superalloys, magnets and catalysts for petroleum and chemical industries.