, supply chain disruptions are making it more difficult to secure the raw materials needed to build the batteries that power these new cars and trucks.

This means automakers like GM have had to rush to secure their supplies of the increasingly expensive metals that make these batteries possible: nickel, lithium and cobalt.

GM cuts a deal to get access to more cobalt

Reuters

reports, GM has recently secured a deal with Glencore PLC to buy cobalt which it will use in its electric vehicle batteries. The automaker hasn’t disclosed the total dollar amount of the deal, but we can assume there will be quite a few zeroes in the number.

The multi-year sourcing agreement will see Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation in Australia supplying GM with the cobalt, which makes up only 0.001% of the earth’s crust. The automaker plans to use it in its lithium-ion battery cathodes to improve their energy density and increase their batteries’ longevity.

This is as GM plans to ramp up its electric vehicle production in North America, targeting an annual manufacturing capacity of 1 million electric vehicles by the end of 2025, the automaker said in a joint

press release

with Glencore.

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Cobalt scarce commodity

Cobalt is a key component of electric vehicle batteries; the rare metal boosts energy density and battery life by keeping the layered metals of lithium-ion battery cathodes stable during operation.

Currently, more than 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the

Frontier Group

, forecasters predict that the cobalt supply cannot keep up with increasing demand, indicating that demand will far outstrip supply as early as 2025.

Is there an alternative? Not yet, but some agencies have touted battery recycling as a new way of reducing reliance on a supply that’s already stretched thin, while others propose doing away with the metal entirely.

Stretching the supply

As automakers rush to secure their piece of the cobalt pie, the International Energy Agency proposed that while recycling wouldn’t necessarily curb the need for investments in new supplies, recycled battery components like cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel could reduce the supply requirement for new minerals by 10%.

Some automotive companies are trying to limit their use of cobalt as well; GM previously showed off a new battery technology in 2021 that uses 70% less cobalt, substituting it for much more readily available aluminum. Similarly, Tesla plans to move away from cobalt as a primary component of its batteries in favor of nickel.

MORE:

How to Choose a Fuel-Efficient Car

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