Fastmarkets reporters round up some of the key discussion points from the Cobalt Institute's annual conference, which ran virtually this year on May 18-19.
EU regulation likely to have global impact
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European Union's battery regulation policy has called for a minimum recycled content of cobalt in each electric vehicle (EV) and industrial battery cell.
From 2030, 12% of the cobalt must be recycled in all EV and industrial batteries that enter the European market, regardless of origin of production. This target rises to 20% by 2035 and is touted to push Chinese manufacturers, which dominate battery production, to have to switch over production lines to serve this market.
In turn, this EU regulation may well later become a global standard.
Panelists welcomed the EU policy but said it could go further to extend throughout the whole supply chain and not just focus on sourcing. Similarly, it could target the quality of recycling, ensuring environmentally friendly practices rather than the quota for recycled content, they said.
Recycling will reduce burden on primary...