Prices for cobalt metal, used in production of electric vehicle batteries, have tripled to nine-year peaks above $30 a pound from below $10 a pound in late 2015.
China’s top nickel producer, will next year start building a new project in Guangxi that will produce raw materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, its chairman said, looking to tap the sector’s “explosive” demand.
In one of the clearest signs of a tight cobalt market, Volkswagen has failed to secure a long-term supply of cobalt used in electrical vehicle batteries.