The Automotive Industry Now Needs More Cobalt For Batteries Than The Smartphone Industry

 The use of electric cars is said to reduce pollution. But many may not realize the manufacture of electric cars is not necessarily sustainable with batteries requiring raw materials such as cobalt resulting in severe pollution. With more and more electric cars being produced, the car industry’s need for cobalt to produce batteries now exceeds the needs of the smartphone industry.

According to the Financial Times, the car industry will need 65,036 tons of cobalt over 2021 compared to the 28,660 tons needed by smartphones. The demand for cobalt during 2021 is also more than the amount mined during 2021. Due to the high demand the selling price of cobalt also increased. This is the reason why Tesla for example started using nickel instead of cobalt in the batteries used by their vehicles.

The solution to one pollution problem results in the existence of another pollution. The victims are the residents of third world countries where these natural resources are mined as we have seen happening in Pahang due to the high demand for bauxite.