Today, Congo accounts for about two-thirds of global cobalt production. The metal is exported largely unprocessed and used primarily in batteries. Zambia also produces cobalt, which is.
Can the Democratic Republic of the Congo produce lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials?
London and Kinshasa, November 24, 2021 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can leverage its abundant cobalt resources and hydroelectric power to become a low-cost and low-emissions producer of lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials.
In so doing, the country and the rest of Africa can extend their access from the USD271 billion battery precursor segment to the more lucrative USD1.4 trillion combined battery cell production and cell assembly segments of the battery minerals global value chain.
“The DRC's cost competitiveness comes from its relatively cheap access to land and low engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, cost compared to the U.S., Poland and China,” said Kwasi Ampofo, lead author of the report and BNEF's head of metals and mining.
This is due to the DRC's proximity to cathode raw materials and heavy reliance on hydroelectric power plants.
Is Africa a good place to buy a battery?
Africa has a wealth of critical battery raw materials and is in a position to use these to attract more value-add in downstream processing and manufacturing.”
How can a region attract a battery component or cell manufacturer?
James Frith, head of energy storage at BNEF said: “For regions to successfully attract battery component or cell manufacturing they need to have either a supply of key raw materials or local demand for batteries. If they have access to raw materials, they can use this supply to attract downstream manufacturers.