RE:Will CBMM be the first upstream input material partner?
"Amid an international rush to secure raw commodities deemed vital for modern technologies, there is growing scrutiny of the strategic and geopolitical facets to niobium — not least since production is concentrated in just a few places.
The shiny grey metal is ranked the second-most “critical mineral” by the US Geological Survey, which estimates that 90 per cent of total output is from Brazil.
“Our country can be positioned as a very important supplier of materials for the energy transition,” says CBMM chief executive Ricardo Lima. “The most important property we can bring is fast charging,” he explains. “In the battery industry, we really have a great opportunity to be very successful.”
Still, even though the steel industry is set to remain CBMM’s core customer, the company wants to boost new business lines to 30 per cent of overall revenues by 2030, up from 10 per cent today. It sees areas like advanced glass for solar panels to fungicides and special magnetic materials as promising.
Supplying battery-grade niobium oxide for commercial vehicles is key to CBMM’s approach. Next month, it is to unveil the world’s first EV with a battery containing the compound: a prototype bus in partnership with Volkswagen and Toshiba. It hopes that real-life versions will be on the roads by 2025.
In the anode (negative) end of a battery, niobium can replace graphite, enabling quicker charging while reducing the risk of overheating and explosions, CBMM says. “Compared to graphite, it is more expensive,” notes Lima. “But, as you have a longer battery life, if you can drive for a longer range, the final cost of ownership to the customer is better.”
In the cathode (positive) end of nickel-based batteries, the company says small amounts of niobium can lessen the need for cobalt. Amnesty International reports that the mining of it in Africa has led to forced eviction of communities and other human rights abuses. Some electric carmakers have now pledged to reduce cobalt’s usage.
“Cathodes could be quite a significant market over time for niobium,” says Andrew Matheson at metals consultancy CPM Group. “On the anode side, it’s still too early to say there’ll be mass adoption, but it’s a strong prospect. Mining trucks alone could eventually represent as much as the current amount going into steel.”