Apple in talks to buy key mineral used in batteries as China secures bulk of global supply
The iPhone maker is seeking multiyear contracts to lock up its supply of cobalt, an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles.
Apple is in talks to buy long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners for the first time, according to people familiar with the matter, seeking to ensure it will have enough of the key battery ingredient amid industry fears of a shortage driven by the electric vehicle boom.
The iPhone maker is one of the world’s largest end users of cobalt for the batteries in its gadgets, but until now it has left the business of buying the metal to the companies that make its batteries.
The negotiations show that Apple is keen to ensure that cobalt supplies for its iPhone and iPad batteries will be sufficient, as the rapid growth in battery demand for electric vehicles threatens to create a shortage of the raw material. About a quarter of global cobalt production is used in smartphones.
Apple is seeking contracts to secure several thousand metric tonnes of cobalt a year for five years or longer, according to one of the people, declining to be named as the discussions are confidential.
Cobalt is an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for smartphones. While smartphones use around eight grammes of refined cobalt, the battery for an electric car requires more than 1,000 times more.