Interesting From IEATaken from the report:
"Lithium-ion batteries are an important consumer of cobalt, and how
their cathode chemistries evolve will play a key role in determining
the pace of cobalt demand growth, especially in the near term.
However, even if the adoption of high-cobalt chemistries slackens,
cobalt demand for use in clean energy technologies is still set to grow
in climate-driven scenarios due to the sheer growth in EV sales.
Cobalt prices more than doubled in 2021 and continued to increase
in early 2022, driven by geopolitical tensions, Africa’s logistical
challenges and reduced cobalt refinery production in China. The war
in Ukraine and associated fallout have further tightened cobalt
availability, with prices up by 15% in the month following the invasion.
The severe flooding in South Africa also disrupted export routes from
the DRC, the largest raw material producer, to China, the largest
refiner.
Several new projects and expansions have been announced in the
past year, which could lead to notable production growth in the years
ahead. Huayou, EVE Energy and others announced a USD 2.1 billion
smelter in Indonesia (Weda Bay), with target annual production of
15 kt cobalt and 120 kt nickel. In the DRC, the announced
USD 2.5 billion expansion of the Tenke Fungurume mine could boost
annual cobalt production by 17 kt, while the USD 600 million
expansion of the Kinsevere project could boost annual cobalt
hydroxide production by 4-6 kt. The Sunrise project in Australia could
produce an additional 4 kt cobalt. In Canada, Electra Battery
Materials Corporation plans to build cobalt sulphate production
plants, together with a lithium-ion battery recycling facility."
https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2022