Responsible Secondary Cobalt
14:00 – 15:30 CET 23 January 2025
WEBINAR
The cobalt Institute’s Responsible Secondary Cobalt report aims to support the development of a global circular economy of cobalt.
The report examines at the risks and opportunities around cobalt recycling, and provides recommendations for industry and policymakers alike, taking an international lens as well as three regional lenses; Europe; United States; and Ghana (for West Africa).
Currently, most recycled cobalt on the global market comes from battery manufacturing scrap and presents relatively fewer risks of improper disposal. Therefore, the report focuses on secondary cobalt feedstocks that are currently not recycled, or at risk of being lost for recycling. In the immediate term, spent lithium-ion batteries in portable electronics represent the greatest source of wasted cobalt globally. In the coming decade spent electric vehicle (EV) batteries will become the largest source of secondary cobalt globally, as increasing numbers of vehicles reach their end of life, resulting in significant volumes of material that will need to be managed.
This webinar will present an overview of the report and its finings and discuss the challenges and opportunities for secondary cobalt.
Agenda
Welcome Remarks & Session Introduction – Susannah McLaren, Head of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability, Cobalt Institute |
Presentation of Responsible Secondary Report – Tom Fairlie, Senior Sustainability Manager, Cobalt Institute |
Presentation of Case Study – Circulor |
Panel of Experts, moderated by Susannah McLaren, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability, Cobalt Institute |
Q&A with audience |

speakers
Douglas Johnson-Poensgen,
Founder & CEO – Circulor

Douglas Johnson-Poensgen is founder and CEO of Circulor. Circulor’s platform brings traceability to complex industrial supply chains, to underpin manufacturers responsible and sustainable sourcing efforts, measure inherited scope 3 emissions in real time and to produce digital product passports.
Douglas has 25 years international experience working both in leadership roles for large corporates as well as starting and growing companies. Before Circulor, he held leadership positions at Barclays Bank and BT with his earlier career spent in management consulting and the military.
Pramoda Gode,
Programme Manager,
Global Battery Alliance

Pramoda is an expert in electric mobility with over 15 years of experience in sustainable transportation planning. She has worked extensively with international think tanks, consulting firms and governments from around the globe to decarbonise urban mobility.
Before joining the GBA, Pramoda led the World Economic Forum’s Moving India initiative. At the Forum, she built several public-private-philanthropic partnerships to promote the adoption of electric vehicles, build charging infrastructure and expand battery recycling. She has published several papers and participated in many distinguished panel discussions on electrifying the road transport sector. She holds a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University, USA.
Dr. Torsten Freund,
Head of Project Management ‘ChemX’,
BASF SE

Dr. Torsten Freund, a pioneer of Digital Product Passports, currently heads the PMO for the ChemX Project. He has crafted DPP projects since being seconded from BASF SE to the Global Battery Alliance Battery Passport program (July 2020 – July 2023), delivering the first proof of concept.
He also leads BASF’s contribution in the consortium project “Battery Pass,” funded by BMWK, which guides compliance with the EU Battery Regulation’s requirements by 2025.
Additionally, Torsten is a member of CEN/CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 24, chaired the DIN-DKE Spec 99100 consortium on the EU Battery Passport pre-norm, and serves on the CSR Europe’s DRIVE+ platform’s advisory board.
Since joining BASF in 1996, he has led teams in research, product development, business development, and strategy focused on sustainable solutions.
Torsten earned his PhD from the Max-Planck-Institute of Polymer Research after studying Chemistry in Köln and Mainz. He was also an Alexander-von-Humboldt fellow at Arizona State University.
Susannah McLaren,
Head of Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability,
Cobalt Institute

Susannah also spent ten years employed with a global engineering contractor, latterly as the Head of Social Sustainability. Susannah has previously held roles on the CRAFT Code Committee, the Advisory Group of the UN Global Compact Network UK, the Board of the United Nations Association of the UK and as Vice-Chair of Building Responsibly, an industry-led initiative to safeguard the rights and welfare of workers. She has a Masters in Environment & Business from the University of Leeds and a degree in Accountancy from the University of Malta.
Tom Fairlie,
Senior Sustainability Manager,
Cobalt Institute

Holding a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle University, Tom began his career as a metallurgist on large extractives projects from which he progressed to management of change, training and business development roles. To combine industry experience with a desire to achieve energy transition in a sustainable manner, he also completed a Masters in Global Energy and Climate Policy from the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London.