COBALT IN EV BATTERIES? The Story of Cobalt & its importance to Batteries & Electric Cars
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- SUBSCRIBE, LIKE & SHARE for a Fully Charged future!
Cobalt has hit the headlines in recent years in relation to its role in batteries and reports of controversial mining, but how much do you really know about it? It's been with us for thousands of years but as the world becomes more electrified our interest in this chemical element has grown.
Cobalt plays a key part in Lithium-Ion batteries which can be found in pretty much anything electrical we use from hearing aids to electric cars. But at what cost? With recycling challenges and work needed to ensure mining of cobalt is ethical, do we really need it? Could future batteries be cobalt free?
Thank you to The Faraday Institution for their contribution to this episode - www.faraday.ac.uk
Also make sure you are subscribed then enter 'The Great EV Giveaway' for your chance to win an EV for a year and lots of other top prizes fullycharged.show/EV-Giveaway/
Fully Charged is 100% independent thanks to TH-cam Memberships and Patreons. Without you this channel wouldn’t be possible! If you’d like to help support the Fully Charged channel and its mission:
Become a Patreon: / fullychargedshow
Become a TH-cam member: use JOIN button above Subscribe to Fully Charged & the Fully Charged PLUS channels
Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : buff.ly/2GybGt0 Browse the Fully Charged store: shop.fullycharged.show/
Visit our LIVE exhibitions in the UK, USA & Europe: FullyCharged.Show/events
Subscribe for episode alerts and the Fully Charged newsletter: fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/
Visit: FullyCharged.Show
Find us on Twitter: / fullychargedshw
Follow us on Instagram: / fullychargedshow
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:24 Supernova creation
2:17 What is cobalt?
4:00 What does it look like?
5:36 Cobalt & batteries
7:48 Sourcing cobalt
9:25 Cobalt mining
10:49 Ethical concerns
11:46 Model mines
12:17 Recycling challenges
14:52 Energy costs
16:08 Design importance
17:09 Do we need it?
18:37 Cobalt free batteries
19:28 The story continues...
20:02 Subscribe, support, join
#CleanEnergy #ElectricVehicles #Batteries #Cobalt #CobaltBatteries #BatteryRecycling #CobaltMining #LithiumIonBatteries #EVs #ElectricCars - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Swiss Stage DAY 5 // FPX vs TH | FUT vs LEV](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/r61uDZTmu44/mqdefault.jpg)
Could we have a future of cobalt-free batteries? Tell us what you think below....
Tesla’s new cell is without cobalt I think?
Lithium Titanate doesn't use it I think, and it charges faster and handles more charge cycles.
What abt solid state batteries?
hopefully!
@@zapfanzapfan Verified, true LTO batteries don't contain cobalt.
Yay, a documentary with Helen! :-)
More to come!
@@fullychargedshow I would love to see a similar episode with Helen talking about lithium (apologies if this has already been made and I have missed it)
Steady
@@mspalmboy You asked, and they delivered!
This was a fantastic episode - thank you so much. Educational, informative and entertaining. Exactly the sort of content we used to get from the BBC but it seems no longer. Please keep doing more episodes like this! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Agree wholeheartedly can we have more like this
@John Mack this wasn't made by the BBC?
This presenter always reminds me of Tomorrow's World. Which is great, because I loved Tomorrow's World.
Me too! Absolutely loved that program. Don't know why it's not still on.
Me too! I always look forward to Helen's videos - like a good battery, they're always information-dense, but easily accessible and enlightening :) (sorry, I'll stop now...)
@@theelectricmonk3909 She's also very attractive... but then, I always fancied the more intelligent young women!
Same, my grandad took photos for the production team for Tomorrow's World in the 1970s. Must admit the footage at the start of this bordered on satire, but it was still great.
Very informative, great broadcasting from fully charged. More like this please Dr Helen.
A shiny metal and a shining example of how to make science and technology interesting and relevant. Very well done Helen. Excellent. Please can we have more like this!?
I am amazed by the level of the video production. Can watch anything on this channel because of that :)
Go have a watch of the B1M
For more than a few moments there, I thought I was watching a BBC documentary. Love it.
Or found with silver deposits like in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada where cobalt was used as an indicator of the presence of silver and was a waste material. Now the mines in Cobalt are being resurveyed for cobalt deposits. And I imagine that the old tailings piles might be a good source of cobalt.
@cresbydotcom Probably
Fantastic episode, I learnt a lot. Maybe you should have mentioned that all Standard Range Tesla Model 3s being sold in Europe (made in China) use LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries and as fas as I understand are totally cobalt free.
Tesla? No they claim it is sourced through another company. They just wipe their hands of it to sanctimonious ends
What a well written, well scripted, well delivered and informative flab-free episode. Thank you.
Absolutely!
Moreover, Helen C has the ability to reflect back what experts have just said in words that are clearer to many viewers. A gifted educational presenter (rather like Chris Smith on the Naked Scientists podcast).
the presenter has evolved in presenting. I enjoyed the show.
The execution of this show was impressive.
Very high quality production. Major producers watch out !!
Not a word on the use of Cobalt, as a catalyst, in the production of (fossil) gasoline and/or diesel???
Important word there is "catalyst". 99.8% recovery.
@@cme2cau Cobalt used in steel and batteries is recycled, cobalt used refining oil is not.
Steel and oil have also been using cobalt for decades before Li-ion batteries were even invented, and using those batteries in EVs is a recent thing.
Only a complete moron or someone doing it on purpose would focus on cobalt in EVs rather than the biggest industry responsible.
@@AnalystPrime Cobalt used in oil refining is used as a catalyst. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being permanently changed. The oil industry recovers about 99.8% of the cobalt used in refining. And talk about pre-existing uses?. I have seen lovely mosaics in Pompeii and Herculaneum which use cobalt for the blue colour. 2000 years ago! And don't fool yourself. According to Global Energies Metal Corp, Lithium ion batteries accounted for 62% of world cobalt consumption last year. "Superalloys" and hard materials, 22%. So, Li ion batteries ARE the biggest industry responsible. Two other points. For nearly all of cobalt's uses, there are substitutes. And Australia, with 1.2 million tons of reserves, could replace all of DRCs production.
@@cme2cau Some good points. Especially the main 'complaint' about it's use being a social one regarding OHS standards and child labour in the DRC. One or two things missing from your comments is % annual usage by the fossil fuel industry (yes, catalyst, but how much does that 0.2% consumption add up to), and you've only accounted for 84% of annual consumption. Where does the other 16% go? Finally, its fair to say that in either case, batteries or refining catalyst, the cobalt isn't being consumed and is available at end of product life for reuse.
@@markbader4942 The report I'm quoting doesn't have the granularity. The 16% is 6% ceramics and pigments, and 10% other. Petroleum would come in there, clearly less than 6%. I do not wish to suggest a false equivalence, but the biggest problem mineral in DRC is gold, not cobalt. Gold is valuable, easily traded and masking the origin of gold is easy. Child labour laws and OHS are fairly recent inventions. It was only in the 19th century that western countries introduced child labour laws. And OHS? Again, it was only in the 19th century that OHS laws were passed.
Sorry guys, i dont watch most vids here... but with Helen is a must view 😚👍👏
Most excellent!! Thank you, Helen and FC for another great science episode.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Seconded. Nice to hear science not FUD around the Cobalt story
Great episode. The importance of the "end-of-life" and recycling processes are tackled too, which is very welcome.
For a windy day the sound was spot on, and having three cameras on each IV was a nice touch. Great work team!
Excelent stuff! Really good info.
The LFP for cars and LithiumSulfur batteries for small planes seems a pair of very good options.
Helen always makes the science so interesting.
Why does anyone have to give a thumbs down? No-one is forced to watch... 🤔
I love these Fully Charge Documentaries! Seriously, this is fantastic quality and I have been enthralled watching you.
Really interesting. It's refreshing to hear the facts presented in an informative and reasonable way. Good job Fully Charged.
Thank you for this discussion of such a broad range of topics about Cobalt. I enjoyed it and learned a great deal. 👍 Bravo!
Absolutely great. Gradually publishing well-produced and researched, accessible pieces covering all the hot topics of EVs and renewable energy. So needed and appreciated. Thank you! Can't wait to see more of these deep-dives (perhaps!) on Nickel and Lithium.
Really enjoyed this video. I hadn't really thought about this fascinating mineral, even though I've just got my first EV. It is great to hear a fair and balanced commentary on the subject from those who contributed.
One of the most informative episodes of Fully Charged, which I am following for many years now. Good job!
Excellent episode with very good questions asked, some of which sounded seemingly simplistic like ‘what is artisan mining?’ and ‘is it easier to recover cobalt from a battery with low cobalt or one with high cobalt?’ Helen certainly did a great job with interviews here!
Such an important video. Cobalt or not, it has to be the entire supply chain and life of product that needs to be sustainable. The rise in EVs will surely push the science for more efficient batteries.
If countries passed laws requiring battery manufacturers to recycle the battery at the end then they would be motivated to change the product to be more easily recyclable.
Thanks for very strong interviews, well organized into a meaningful presentation about Cobalt.
Excellent short analysis and overview. Thank you.
Excellent presenter and a thought provoking subject especially on designing recyclability into EV batteries to make the economics of recycling them viable.
This is a great episode! Can you make more like this? What really is lithium? What are the other elements in renewables and batteries? It would make for a great series!
Fantastic episode and very balanced in the pros, cons and if we even need cobalt moving forward. Keep up the good work FC Team. 👍
This is a really great little spot guys well done. Fully charged really feeling like it’s properly matured.
Well done. Convincingly unbiased and factual
Great learning session, look forward to more information on EV Batteries which are easy to recycle and low cost for the developing world.
This was brilliant to watch. Very informative and enjoyable, thank you.
Only 5-10% is mined unethically. That’s something that new I’ve learnt today, reckon it should be re-enforced for the naysayers.
Hard to say what is going on in there, after all the whole issue is that DRK doesn't actually have much control and the authorities are likely to be corrupt in the few places they exist.
But even if someone there is actually running a mine using slaves like some people are screaming about, most of the time it is likely just families putting every able hand to work, farmers have been doing that for about ten millennia. If someone wants to do something about that they need to make it more profitable to let the children have an education and a safe home, and also make it possible for that to happen, not scream about EVs being made with slave labor...
Speaking of which, one of the main uses for cobalt has for ages been oil refining. Steel industry is also a big customer, but steel can be recycled, just like batteries. Cobalt used for refining cannot. Li-ion batteries using cobalt may have increased the demand but they are a recent innovation and only a small part of the global demand, of which only a tiny amount is produced unethically. So isn't it funny that the people who want to stop the unethical mining are focusing on an even smaller part of the whole, not even batteries but only batteries used in EVs?
@@stumpyplank6092 If by "yes men" you mean saying no to all the stupid lies about EVs... "EVs use thousands of kilowatts of electricity!" No. "EVs will cause electric grid to collapse!" No, not unless it is so bad it should have been upgraded fifty years ago anyway. "EVs cause radioactivity/poison/release more CO2 than fossil fuels." Nope. "EVs kill birds!" No again.
There are obvious issues like the need for powerful batteries raising the prices, new technology having all kinds of teething problems, need for powerful chargers to keep charging speed down limiting where you can take long trips, some car manufacturers making show cars they never planned for production, etc. But when someone starts inventing crap like "Teslas cannot be recycled" it is clear they are either trolls or paid to spread lies.
Hadn't heard of that connection, but my guess is people with experience in mining would know how much the costs of fossil fuels are going to rise compared to the relatively common materials for batteries, PV panels and so on. Also, those things can be recycled with reasonable expense, you simply can not do that with oil.
@@stumpyplank6092 Only paid hatchet men under employ of US were the ones who allegedly assassinated certain inventors for threatening the monopoly of FF and car industries and actually did spread fake news that climate change was not happening.
"Don't need wrong system to win out because of skulduggery"? Wrong system like fossil fuels which have received trillions in subsidies and tax benefits and then spent billions hiding the fact they knew climate change was happening and they were a major cause? Like lobbyists who spent billions more on spreading fake news and opposing renewable energy than any government has ever used to support it? Like ICE car manufacturers who only made few crappy hybrid and BEV cars to pretend they were lowering the fuel use and pollution they cause, and then used their own badly designed cars as "proof" that EVs don't work? Like power companies who are decades late upgrading and repairing the electric infrastructure and shift blame to renewable power when the expected blackouts happen? Like "environmentalist groups" who oppose green energy and EVs on orders of companies who cause millions of times more pollution and deaths of humans and animals than all the renewables, EVs and nuclear power combined?
The free market was willing to pay extra for things like quiet and non-polluting solar panels and electric vehicles back when they were not yet economical. Now they are in most cases cheaper and more convenient than FF and ICE vehicles the free market definitely wants to save money by using them. What the free market does not need is a bunch of liars claiming that the colored glass bottles and windows in churches or boats sold to millions are killing the bald eagles, releasing toxins in the water, and also are impossible to recycle.
Oh, wait! Actually the discarded bottles, large windows and speedboats do have higher chance of killing birds or other animals than solar panels and windmills do, and boats are also more likely to leak oil and such chemicals than either of them. Solar panels are glass. Windows are glass. Boats are made from steel and fiberglass like windmills. The materials do not magically become radioactive or whatever depending on which item you make out of them, and anyone claiming otherwise needs to be sent into mental hospital until their insanity is cured.
Anyways, yes, BEVs are best for shorter travel, over 90% of drivers only drive less than 20-25 miles per day anyway. Fuel cells would work better and cost less for larger and longer range vehicles, but are very bad idea for regular size cars.
@@stumpyplank6092 No it isn't. The World's largest lithium producer is Australia...... there are other sources, but none produce the amount Australia does.....
Even if it was 1% unethical it is still too much!
Brilliant film, well presented and extremely interesting. Bravo FC team!
There are videos showing existing solutions. One of them is to freeze the cells, run them through a shredder, and then process the shredded stream like high-grade ore. It's not cheap or fast, but you don't have to dig it out of the ground and separate out the other impurities first. 'Mining' recycled post-consumer product is a challenge, but there are companies out there doing it now.
Great content as always! Thank you all!
Excellent episode. The range of this channel is superb. As for the future I can imagine future space mining ships travelling the universe with names like green short person
Another fantastic science-based content from Helen, huge fan of them. More of the same, please.
Great documentary! We need to get the recycling thing sorted, cobalt or not. VW did clearly say they were aiming for a circular economy, so I hope they are producing batteries with recycling in mind.
Interesting video. The ethical side of cobalt mining was brushed over too quickly imo. A report I saw showed a river devoid of any life due to the mine upstream, farmers unable to grow crops and parents with 4x the amount of cobalt in their blood than those in Europe with the highest recorded level of cobalt. A deeper investigation and reporting on this on this channel would surely help to spread the message.
What a great presentation! Informative and nonpartisan.
Brilliant!!😍
Very well done and full with information.
Glad you liked it!
Great item. Finely the perspectives right. Might have been pointed a bit more to the fact current industries use the bulk.
Brilliant episode this is. I went back to rewatch it after the recent Panorama program. This is a far more balanced and scientific look at the issues around Cobalt. Although one thing you didn’t touch upon Helen was the point that petrol/diesel cars also daily need lithium in producing their fuel.
Production level of this video is just superb!
Great work, engaging overview that’s simple to digest 👍🏼
My understanding from watching the show is that although Cobalt is being reduced in the manufacturing of battery cells for EVs that's not necessarily the case for consumer electronics such as laptops and phones which still rely on Cobalt quite heavily. So a cobalt-free future for batteries would be great if we could implement it across all types of batteries.
Excellent episode, informative and on a subject that nobody else talks about.
Well done to the whole team for the type of episodes that used to be the backbone of the BBC Horizon strand ( with Helen as presenter! ).
Great episode Helen. Excellent content delivered in an engaging manner.
Nice to see New Zealand on that globe! :D
Fantastic overview, thank you!
I cannot believe something this good is on TH-cam
Very very good! another scientific and useful puzzle piece in the electric world. Great reporting!
These are the short discussion docs that bring up important topics and make them more insightful, maybe provide some drive to optimizing change.
For fixed storage we should never produce new li-ion packs.
Great stuff, can we see more of Helen’s episodes please, both eductional & entertaining.
School TV for adults. Perfectly explained. I have a question though about the almost propaganda-ish interview on the Congo mines: where is the actual 'scientific' documentary on that? Or do we simply take your word for it? The matter seems so much more complicated once you leave the University grounds.
Lovely episode, very informative.
Super informative!!!!! Well done!!!!!
This is so good. Thank you for this!
Fantastic presenter, Can't believe we're getting this standard of documentary from a TH-cam channel these days.
Excellent video! Keep these coming! :)
Very interesting and great to hear that mining in the DRC is becoming more ethical.
Really interesting, learned a lot in a short space of time.
good podcast, an excellent explanation of cobalt.
Another brilliant episode thank you 😊
Great episode. Very informative .
Thanks for another great video!
Great series. Love it.
It's a great insight into this aspect that is key into the electric future
I think a short bit on the fact that Cobalt is also used in refining gasoline, making steel, etc would be nice. We're always hearing about how cobalt is terrible, so we shouldn't use EVs. Seems prudent to point out it has lots of other uses, that carry the same challenges, and that cobalt free EVs are not uncommon. Tesla uses Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries in their standard range vehicles, for example.... no cobalt in them.
This was a great episode shame that 15 people disliked it. They must be petrol heads;)
Really interesting, thank you.
Love Helen's presenting.
I'm willing to overlook Cobalt in any batteries in the electric car you send me as the next winner.
Very informative, thank you
Love this format
New high tech batteries like the aluminum graphene battery show great promise with no problematic or expensive materials used.
Very interesting, thanks!
Thanks for this very interesting video 👍🏻
This was really good!
Helen is such a wonderful presenter! Great production too on this fascinating story.
She’s awesome. We are lucky to have her
Superb. A treat.
Nice Job!
great article!
Quality video!!!
Enlightening as ever
Cobalt will be soon eliminated as a component for batteries. There are alot of battery chemistries were cobalt is not used at all.
Awesome Thx.
The economics of recycling batteries should be built into the whole process, and not be an after thought. Saying ok here we got some used batteries, can we make money out of them. Nah its too messy, too expansive, just dump it in the land fill.
agree, the design and build of the battery pack itself (like the EVSE charging port) could be universal, making it easier for companies to manufacture machines to dissemble the packs for up-cycling or recycling, with the empty battery pack cases, some terminals, bus bars and possible BMS reused for future EV's. So many opportunities.
@@grant3226 Batteries are one of the few products which have world wide standardization. AAA, AA, C, D, 9V, 12V car batteries, etc.
More likely the packs will never be standard, but the internal cells might, which would encourage a secondary market for refurbished battery packs.
@@barrykaine6526 The internal cells already are, to a large extent. Those "18650" batteries you put in vapes and some RC gear? Same cells that make up your car battery pack... Tesla did recently "break the mould" with their super-size cells, which will probably also become a standard size in time.
Good episode
Very interesting, enjoyed this episode and looking forward to similar.
I was just thinking, if we are moving away from cobalt, with it being such a huge industry in DRC, should we have concerns about lack of opportunity and loss of income for this developing nation?
It would be much better for the country if they could be supported to have a state owned cobalt mine with high worker safety and decent wages. Anyone who wanted to work mining cobalt could get a job there instead of risky diy mining. Taking away their main means of earning a living hardly seems helpful.
There is a project in South Australia, Australia, called the Kalkaroo project, that has copper, gold and cobalt resources. It is still waiting on government approval.
Advanced Metallurgical Group. Lithium, lithium hydroxide, cobalt, Vanadium... They got it all and in a cheap and sustainable way.
Growing up we had a small artisanal cobalt mine in the back yard. It was a great place for me to earn a little extra pocket money. Those were the days...
question is:
cost of recycling
cost of mining
if the price go up of material recycling will be on market...?