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UN report highlights urgent need to tackle impact of EV battery production boom

Green Car Congress

Demand for raw materials used in the production of electric car batteries is set to soar, prompting the UN trade body, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), to call for the social and environmental impacts of the extraction of raw materials, which include human rights abuses, to be addressed urgently.

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Scientists at KU Leuven, University of Lubumbashi reveal the health risks of cobalt mining in DR Congo

Green Car Congress

The metal is a crucial component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and electric cars. Around 60% of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the mineral-rich Katanga Copper belt, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Demand for cobalt has been on the increase due to its many applications. —Nkulu et al.

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Volkswagen joins “Cobalt for Development” initiative

Green Car Congress

Volkswagen says that it is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

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Mercedes-Benz to source only battery cells with cobalt & lithium from certified mining sites; significantly reducing cobalt

Green Car Congress

Respect and protection of human rights and of the environment, all the way from the mine to the finished product, are decisive in this respect, the company said. Currently, the focus is particularly on the battery raw materials cobalt and lithium.

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BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics launch cross-industry project to support sustainable cobalt mining

Green Car Congress

As part of a cross-industry initiative, the BMW Group, BASF SE, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics have launched a joint cobalt pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cobalt is a key component in the production of batteries for the automotive and electronics industries.

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CLEE, NRGI studying ways to improve sustainability and governance across EV battery supply chain

Green Car Congress

UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) are conducting a stakeholder-led research initiative focused on identifying strategies to improve sustainability and governance across the EV battery supply chain.

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Should the Cobalt for EVs Come From the Congo or the Seafloor?

Cars That Think

These carmakers’ names were significant because the battery in an electric vehicle contains at least a few kilograms of cobalt , a metal that some hope one day to extract from the seabed—to the chagrin of many environmentalists.

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