Respectfully, you are wrong.
I've found what is often written in articles doesn't align with what is actually happening in the real world via large investments, deals, etc. Have you spent much time researching these? Are you personally involved in the industry?
You've just linked a classic article from 2021 talking about Tesla and others moving away from cobalt. You do know that Telsa has continued placing large cobalt orders with Glencore, yeah? How can you explain this?
And you do know that the 13 gigafactories coming online soon all require approximately 11,000t - 15,000t of cobalt EACH?
And surely you know that Tesla is on the cusp of ramping up and mass producing 4680 batteries? These are NCM811. They are used in Model Ys and will also be used in the Cybertruck. The latter is expected to sell in "massive quantities" according to Inside EVs. Leave the LFP for putt-putts, please.
https://insideevs.com/news/653754/tesla-4680-battery-production-shift-from-germany-to-usa/Don't let Elon's red herring fool you. Look at the investments and deals and what is actually happening on production lines - rather than read a few doom and gloom articles online.
Oh, Panasonic is about to ramp up production of 4680 batteries - by the way. I am based here in Japan.
A lot of OEMs are gunna be placing large orders for cobalt soon. JRV are in the box seat when it comes to these negotiations. I am here for the deals. They will come. Feel free to bookmark this and revisit down the track.
Wait, you still don't believe me? OK. Listen to what Charles Poon, Global Director of Electrified Systems Engineering at Ford - has to say about all this. Keep in mind this video has just been released 11 days ago via Ford's official account. This is an industry player. Not an obscure article from 2021. Please do better with your research.
Let's quote Charles:
NCM: "Can travel long distances, handle greater loads, and hold up well in colder conditions" (power + range, baby).
LFP: "Attractive to business owners who run the same routes over and over again. Or someone who uses their EV on shorter, routine commutes, like dropping the kids off at school and going to work" (in other words, putt-putts).
"We believe there is an advantage to having (wait for it) BOTH TYPES of batteries, NCM & LFP in the Ford line-up". As I keep saying, this isn't a binary debate. The market is large enough to accommodate multiple chemistries. Anyone saying differently is just plugging their own book.
As for the USG comment, let's wait and see whether or not the USG provide some material support to JRV in the near future. If they do, we'll both know where they stand on this mineral they have added to their critical minerals list.
Cobalt may be eliminated at some point in the future. Not this decade, though, looking at all the investments and deals in this space.
Follow the deals. Follow the money. Ignore rando writers.
Peace to you.
(20min delay)
