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Getting rid of cobalt to make electric vehicle batteries cheaper, ethical

The price of lithium-ion batteries fell by around 89 percent between 2010 and 2020, but one of the most expensive materials in them is cobalt. This metallic element which is mostly obtained through the refining of nickel ore represents about 30 percent of the cost of batteries which operates everything from mobile phones to electric cars. For a typical 80 kilowatt-hour battery, $ 800 cobalt goes to the price tag.

Besides the cost, cobalt also has a dark side, that’s it related to human rights violations and child labor which causes companies to seek alternatives to making cobalt-free batteries.