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General Market Commentary
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General Energy
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General Market Commentary
Cobalt Uses: Batteries and More
Cobalt, whose name is derived from a German word meaning “evil spirits,” has been valued by humans since the Egyptians used it as a coloring agent.
Today, the metal is considered one of the world’s essential elements. With its high melting point and ability to maintain strength even at raised temperatures, it is useful in cutting tools, superalloys, surface coatings, high-speed steels and many other materials.
Below is an overview of those and other cobalt uses. While this critical metal is currently best known as a raw material in lithium-ion batteries, it has plenty of other applications investors should know about.
Cobalt uses: Rechargeable batteries
One of cobalt’s main applications right now is in rechargeable batteries of all kinds. It is crucial in the manufacturing of these batteries, because it helps them overcome numerous issues.
For example, early iterations of nickel-metal hydride batteries had issues such as a poor lifecycle, internal cell pressure and corrosion. However, engineers found that the addition of cobalt solved many of these problems.
Similarly, the first versions of lithium-ion batteries were found to be too reactive, resulting in battery fires. These batteries have been stabilized and now contain up to 60 percent cobalt per cell.
Demand for rechargeable batteries has risen sharply in the last couple of decades. Case in point: in the mid-1990s, only 1 percent of cobalt was used in electronics, but now “around 10 percent of global cobalt production goes into smartphones,” according to Marc Grynberg, CEO of electric car battery maker Umicore (OTC Pink:UMICF,EBR:UMI).
This number is expected to continue to rise due to increased demand for smartphones, electric cars and other electronics that require rechargeable batteries.
Electric cars in particular have become a huge source of demand for cobalt in recent years. They are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and as mentioned, cobalt is a key raw material in these batteries.
This increasing need for cobalt drove prices up substantially in 2017 and early 2018, and there have been efforts to find a substitute for the material in lithium-ion batteries. Some battery makers are now looking at ways to use more nickel and less cobalt in lithium-ion batteries.