OF COURSE, as something that has been widely touted as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, the green credentials of pure-electric vehicles have often been called into question.
A large amount of the conversation around this has revolved around the use of cobalt, which is used to aid conductivity and structural stability in lithium-ion batteries, enabling them to last for as long as they do.
However, production of cobalt is sometimes conducted in territories where a blind eye is turned to ethical mining practices, in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which produces around 60% of the world supply.
So-called “artisanal” miners, who are unregulated and often use child labour, supplied 30% of DRC cobalt in 2018. Large players in the electric car market, such as BMW, have pledged not to use cobalt sourced from the DRC.
However, the car industry is also a significant and growing global market for nickel, which provides energy density and storage capacity to lithium-ion batteries.
For the rest of this article: https://www.driving.co.uk/news/environmental-concerns-mount-use-nickel-evs/