Will there be enough to build all the electric vehicles?
Global demand for cobalt and nickel, two of the essential elements in electric car batteries, has never been higher. But where do all those metals come from? And do we even have enough for our electrified future? The answers to those questions are getting increasingly complex.
Reuters and Bloomberg both have stories out today on the metals and, as Reuters reports, while demand for nickel keeps increasing, half the world's nickel supply is too low in quality to use for car batteries.
All of which is going to have seismic effect on the world's suppliers. In short: There will be winners and losers, and the winners will be the ones with the highest-grade stuff—not unlike, I suppose, the illicit drugs market.
Do you feel fearful, uncertain, and doubtful about the future of electric cars?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 02 2017, @02:01AM (1 child)
The most common stainless steel is 18/8 -- 8% nickel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel [wikipedia.org]
So the battery suppliers are going to be facing off against the steel makers...and all the chefs who like their stainless cookware and cutlery. Always wanted that nice set of stainless tableware? Better buy it now, the price is headed up.
Cobalt is used to make superalloys, used (for just one example) in jet engines,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt#Alloys [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Thursday November 02 2017, @06:10AM
Because it's as cheap as chips currently, at least compared to boomtime:
http://www.infomine.com/ChartsAndData/GraphEngine.ashx?z=f&gf=110564.USD.lb&dr=10y
(change '10y' to 'max' to get more history)
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