The state cobalt agency in Democratic Republic of Congo has produced its first 1,000 metric tons of traceable artisanal cobalt, a key step in formalizing the sector in a country that supplies much of the world's battery metal…Congo holds about 72% of global cobalt reserves and accounts for over 74% of supply, much of it from informal artisanal mines…Artisanal mining is a lifeline for Congo, employing an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million people and supporting more than 10 million people indirectly…Aiming to curb oversupply and support prices, Congo introduced export quotas in October after a months-long export ban…Global cobalt demand is forecast to rise 40% by 2030, driven by demand for electric vehicles and energy storage, according to the International Energy Agency…Automakers and electronics firms increasingly require proof of ethical sourcing, putting pressure on producers to eliminate child labor and unsafe practices.

Canada and India are working to rebuild trade ties and explore new areas of cooperation after a two-year chill, with Ottawa keen to restart trade negotiations under “a new process,” Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said on Thursday…“The meeting went really well. We focused on areas of opportunity - aerospace, AI, critical minerals, energy, agriculture - and what more we can do together,” Sidhu told Reuters in an interview after the meeting…He said the government of Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney brought “a new focus, new energy and new mandate”, and was keen to enhance cooperation with India to attract investment in the energy and critical minerals sectors…“Canada has every element needed to build an electric battery,” Sidhu said, adding that Ottawa welcomed investment from India in mining critical minerals and infrastructure projects.

In 2005, China only had two EV battery manufacturers. Twenty years later, it produces more than three-quarters of the world's lithium-ion cells. How did it happen?...But back then, China's lithium battery industry was "very small" with only two EV battery producers, as Mo's team found. In 2005, they hosted China's first conference for the lithium battery industry as a part of their research…At the time, CATL, the world's current largest EV battery maker, was a department of ATL, a Japanese-owned company that made lithium batteries for electronic gadgets. BYD, the world's current second-largest EV battery maker and a leading EV maker, had just entered the auto industry after earning its first barrel of capital by supplying batteries to phone giants…Twenty years later, China is the king of the industry indispensable to the world's 2050 net-zero goal. It produces more than three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries worldwide and is home to six out of the 10 largest battery makers on the planet …But policy is only part of the story. Chinese companies also proved adept at large-scale production and controlling cost – both key to EV battery manufacturing…The story of lithium batteries began beyond China's shores about 50 years ago …But before the Olympics, China had already planned a long game. In 2006, its cabinet launched a science and technology scheme that would cover the next 15 years. It included "low-emission and new-energy vehicles [NEVs]" as one of the 62 priority areas the country should pursue, and listed "rechargeable power battery" as a key technology for this area…"Chinese policy makers decided that EVs could be an opportunity for the Chinese auto industry to leapfrog the west, because it was like a blank field where everybody was starting from scratch," says Xie…The years between 2012 and 2020 proved to be critical for China's battery makers as the government doubled down its effort in putting EVs on the road…But a bigger boost for the battery industry was yet to arrive. In 2015, China introduced a key rule that – in Xie's words – "walled off" its huge domestic market for Chinese battery firms. EV makers were mandated to use batteries produced by one of the selected suppliers if their cars were to qualify for consumer subsidies. All of the 57 companies that appeared on a government "white list" turned out to be Chinese…The government's massive investment had come with a clear goal: to build a strong EV manufacturing industry…There are other important elements that set China's battery industry apart. "It's the supply chain, know-how and manufacturing," …If other countries can get ahead with next-generation battery technologies, such as solid-state batteries, "there may still be chances" for them to compete, Mo says…But this is no easy feat, given China's 20-year lead in building a battery-manufacturing ecosystem. For some, such as Ogan of Snow Bull Capital, the past two decades may have sealed China's long-lasting lead in the global battery supply chain.