Cobalt & Copper Confidential

The demand for cobalt grew rapidly over the past decade due to the increase of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, smartphones and other electronic devices. Cobalt is a key element of these batteries. In addition, cobalt is also used in aerospace and defense applications, as well as in medical implants. However, in recent years, the cobalt market has faced a series of challenges and opportunities that have led to abrupt changes in prices and investment in the sector. Cobalt is a relatively expensive and scarce mineral and reducing its use in batteries can help to lower costs and increase supply chain sustainability. This was particularly evident in 2018 when a surge in supply from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) cooled the market while at the same time, Elon Musk of Tesla voiced serious plans to drastically reduce the need for Cobalt in their EV batteries. Fast forward to 2021. A combination of major supply chain bottlenecks due to the covid pandemic and at the same ...

 Hi!   And welcome to our blog. We are three master’s students at the NMBU School of Business with specialization in finance and commodity market analysis. In the coming months we will post a collection of analyses and reports concerning the market and prices of commodities, more specifically cobalt and copper. We hope you as a reader wish to engage with our findings and discuss possible differences in points of view. Happy reading!