Companies Are Racing to Mine Cobalt to Power Electric Cars

The battery boom is echoed in the booms of cobalt mines.

To keep up with the demand for electric cars, mining companies face steep competition to mine enough cobalt—a crucial mineral used in electric car batteries. If they don’t keep up pace, experts say the price of cobalt may double this year.

Glencore Plc is currently responsible for mining a third of the cobalt supply, but Bloomberg reports that may soon change.

The mining company mostly operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, since it has a tight grip on supply with the world’s largest cobalt source. That may not be enough, so projects are popping up in Australia, Canada, and the United States to meet demand.

Tesla’s popular electric cars and future electric releases from conventional automakers, like Volkswagen and Ford, means the whole battery-powered car market could be valued at $244 billion by 2025, according to Bloomberg. As a result, the demand for cobalt could increase 30 times over by 2030.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal and mining magnate Robert Friedland are among the new players looking to back mining developments outside of the Congo and cash in on that surge.