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Cobalt
EVs will help drive demand for cobalt eight-fold by 2025. “We forecast average global cobalt demand growth of 6.7 per cent a year to 2025, driven primarily by an 800 per cent lift in cobalt’s use in the electric vehicles sector over the same period.” Interest in the rare metal soared last year, lifting the spot price to near 10-year-highs around $29/lb. “EVs are already having an impact on the price of metals used in the battery, particularly cobalt, the most expensive of the cathode materials,” the report says. However, Morgan Stanley warns that cobalt miners faced longer term challenges due to supply constraints and questions over ethical mining.“The cobalt industry’s ethical concerns is leading end-users to seek to reduce cobalt content in NMC (lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries or use alternative technologies,” the report said. “In China, the trend is towards increased cobalt usage per vehicle, as new regulations drive an industry shift towards higher energy density batteries… but in the long run, a cobalt-free battery future is possible, most likely via substitution by new technologies.”

Source: https://unauthorised investment advice/resources/there-will-be-1bn-electric-cars-by-2050-heres-what-it-means-for-asx-miners/ (4 Sept 2017)