Cobalt supply will need to double by 2030 from current levels to meet surging demand for the key ingredient used in electric vehicles, commodity trading house Trafigura’s head of nickel and cobalt trading said on Wednesday.
“We estimate that we need twice as much (cobalt) supply by 2030,” Socrates Economou told an online conference hosted by the Financial Times.
Economou added that artisanal supply of cobalt, which is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will likely reach 10,000 tonnes compared to 20,000 tonnes in 2019.
Total supply of cobalt in 2020 was 126,500 tonnes, according to consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
(By Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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