1. The article referring to the major, & very likely continuing, decline in cobalt use in EV & green energy storage batteries etc. was dated 1.4.23.
It also states that the % of Ni is being greatly increased, to substitue for the decline in cobalt.
2. Bloomberg also states that Ni will increase its importance, with a higher % of composition in EV batteries, & general green energy storage batteries; & that cobalt will reduce in importance, as an increasing % of batteries will eliminate cobalt totally.
Cobalt is, of course, much more expensive, cf Ni
Furthermore, it mentions ESG considerations for cobalt's expected decline- non-Chinese battery makers strongly desire to reduce cobalt usage, due to the very disturbing social & moral issues of child & exploited labour to extract it in the DR of Congo, producer of c.70% + of world-wide cobalt ore (& China dominates cobalt refining: supply chain anxiety for democratic countries).
These factors bode well for QPM.
bloomberg 21.7.22 states"Cheaper battery chemistries could become more popular
High commodity costs could spur car manufacturers to adjust their battery strategies and opt for cheaper compositions. One such avenue is to substitute cobalt with NICKEL (my emphasis).
“Cobalt use in lithium-ion batteries has evolved over the last three years as a result of the higher prices recorded in 2018 and the ethical concerns automakers have around supply from artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” says Ampofo. “These concerns have resulted in a shift to less cobalt-intensive battery chemistries, or those without cobalt.”
The switch to higher nickel content, as well as the rapid uptake of lithium iron phosphate cells, means less cobalt will be used in batteries than previously anticipated. BNEF’s latest forecast is that cobalt demand will grow by 28% between now and the end of the decade to over 150,000 tons. However, this is less than half what was estimated back in 2019".
https://about.bnef.com/blog/race-to-net-zero-the-pressures-of-the-battery-boom-in-five-charts/
