ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS MOUNT OVER USE OF NICKEL IN EVS – by Kieran Ahuja (Sunday Times Driving – September 7, 2020)

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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/