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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday February 22 2018, @04:45AM   Printer-friendly
from the cutting-out-the-middleman dept.

Apple is looking to ensure that it has the steady supply of cobalt it needs to produce iPhones and other electronics:

Apple Inc. is in talks to buy long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners for the first time, according to people familiar with the matter, seeking to ensure it will have enough of the key battery ingredient amid industry fears of a shortage driven by the electric vehicle boom.

The iPhone maker is one of the world's largest end users of cobalt for the batteries in its gadgets, but until now it has left the business of buying the metal to the companies that make its batteries.

The talks show that the tech giant is keen to ensure that cobalt supplies for its iPhone and iPad batteries are sufficient, with the rapid growth in battery demand for electric vehicles threatening to create a shortage of the raw material. About a quarter of global cobalt production is used in smartphones.

Also at Ars Technica and TechCrunch.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:23AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:23AM (#641656)

    More likely, offer stable Cobalt prices to their battery suppliers, so that long term contracts don't include a "cost of Cobalt" adjuster.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:37AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 22 2018, @06:37AM (#641659)

    So exclude all battery makers with their own supply contracts? Sounds like BS to me.