DRIVING BEYOND COBALT FOR EV BATTERY TECHNOLOGY
As electric vehicles (and electrification technology) grow in popularity among consumers and ecosystem players, a greater focus has been placed on ethical and sustainable operations and processes throughout the value chain. Ecosystem players are looking to double down on the shifting trends toward sustainability by implementing more ethical standards throughout the battery lifecycle, from mining practices to battery second life.
Today, most lithium ion batteries use the chemical element cobalt as a foundation for their cathode material (the portion of the lithium ion cell which determines storage capacity). Cobalt cathode cells provide longer-range performance and lower difficulty in charge measurement and management, when compared to other chemistries. However, the mining of cobalt has long been a hotly contested topic.