July 13, 2018—Panasonic plans to halve the cobalt content of its mass-produced automotive batteries in two to three years, reported Reuters.
The chief of Panasonic said at the research and developmental level, the company has already achieved these types of batteries, according to the report. Yet, there still needs to be evaluation processes before mass-producing them.
The company has already reduced its cobalt content to about 10 percent in its nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode chemistry. The goal is to reduce costs. Other automakers have been trying to reduce cobalt content as prices of the mineral have multiplied in recent years, and the expected spread of electric vehicles is expected to result in cobalt shortages, reported Reuters.
Panasonic batteries are used for Tesla's current production models.
