Responsible Secondary Cobalt

Cobalt is in the batteries that power our devices and increasingly in the transportation we use and the amount of cobalt we need is increasing.  Thankfully cobalt is infinitely recyclable, meaning when these batteries reach the end of their life the cobalt can be recovered – enabling a circular economy.  However today much of this end-of-life cobalt is not recovered and represents the loss of a strategic source of a critical raw material that is essential to the energy transition.
Responsible Secondary Cobalt examines 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).  The report’s recommendations aim to minimise losses of cobalt, drive a circular economy of cobalt and ensure secondary (recycled) cobalt is sourced responsibly.

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.

With the recommendations from the report Cobalt Institute encourages policy makers and industry stakeholders to work collaboratively and achieve a responsible circular economy for cobalt.

 

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