Hyperdrive

How Batteries Sparked a Cobalt Frenzy and What Could Happen Next

Expanded Glencore mine may keep cobalt market in surplus: CRU
High prices could spur substitution and recycling: BMO

Mineral deposits are seen on core samples displayed at a First Cobalt Corp. facility outside of Cobalt, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. Global demand for cobalt, a component in batteries used to power electric cars for automakers from Tesla Inc. to Volkswagen AG, is changing the importance of the metal. Cobalt, both the town and the metal, are attracting renewed attention as a buffer to rising political risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg

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By Mark Burton

December 18, 2017 at 12:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Cobalt left other metals in the dust this year, driven by demand from electric carmakers like Tesla Inc. But with new supply coming online and high prices likely to spur substitution and recycling, the market for the key battery component could prove choppier next year.

Here are five themes that will capture the market’s attention in 2018.