Featured in Awarding impactful innovators – 01-2020

Ethical strategies for cobalt supply

Since 2016, Amnesty International has denounced cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo for human rights violations and the use of child labor. This has led LG Chem and other companies to insist on standards for battery cell suppliers, as a step toward improving the situation.

By

Cornelia Lichner

13 Jan 2020

Workers sort and wash cobalt at a mining site. | Image: BGR Hannover

Modern nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery cells contain between 100 and 360 grams of cobalt per kilowatt-hour of capacity. However, since a report by Amnesty International was released in early 2016, cobalt mining has been the focus of media attention. The report showed that children were involved in mining the metal in the Democratic Republic of Congo …

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