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upon the manufacturers' specs on a model
by model basis, but these batteries cannot
function without cobalt.
Declining production plus increasing
demand equals opportunity. Expect cobalt
to continue its run well past 2020.
GRAPHITE'S NEW CHAPTER
by Daniel McGroarty
GRAPHITE'S ROLE in the history of
human technology is right there in its
name: Graphein, derived from the Greek
word meaning "to write," referring to the
early use of the material in the form of what
later came to be called lead pencils. And
yet the 21st century may be graphite's most
important yet: As the American Resources
Policy Network puts it, "Graphite today
is at the core of more than just your lead
pencil – it is at the core of 21st century
consumer technology." Laptops and LEDs,
smartphone and solar cells, Electric Vehicle
batteries, drones and satellites, energy stor
-
age devices – even nuclear reactors: each of
these and many more applications depend
on graphite as a key means for the efficient
transmission of power.
Particularly as electric vehicles achieve
higher levels of adoption and energy stor
-
age technology matures, growing graphite
demand will put increasing pressure on
supply. And the demand spike is dramatic.
At least one private analytical firm proj-
ects demand for graphite to increase 200%
between now and 2020, fueled by the
rapid increase of lithium-ion battery anode
production. Exploding demand for key
graphite uses is one of the drivers behind
the US and European Union identifying
graphite as a "critical risk" material.
In some instances, to be sure, substitu
-
tion for natural graphite is possible. Yet
synthetic graphite, a material processed
from petroleum coke, has its own limita-
tions, both in terms of price – depending
on the application, it can be two to 10
times as expensive as natural graphite,
inhibiting its widespread use – and func-
tionality, as some applications show a
