RE: Copper31 May 2021 15:12
Who was it who said EVs will take off quicker than predicted?....The 120 000 t/y to 130 000 t/y cobalt market is expected to double in size by 2025, with about half of global demand to be from batteries, says diversified commodities producer Glencore head cobalt trader David Brocas, who was quoted in investment banker Jefferies' latest cobalt-focused metals and mining report.
Brocas explains that consumer electronics (like tablets and mobile phones) are currently as big as the electric vehicle (EV) market for cobalt in batteries (each account for about 25% of demand), and demand in electronics is relatively price inelastic, in part owing to the low cost of cobalt relative to the total cost of the finished product.
It adds that other end-markets include superalloys (mostly in aerospace), magnets, chemical catalysts, hard metals and pigments.
However, the major demand growth, is “clearly in EVs” as Brocas believes that, while battery technologies that do not use cobalt will have a place in the market, such as in inexpensive cars with poor performance, batteries that contain cobalt will be critical for policy-driven decarbonisation or electrification initiatives.