The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can leverage its abundant cobalt resources and hydroelectric power to become a low-cost and low-emissions producer of lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials, says strategic research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF).
It estimates that it would cost $39-million to build a 10 000 t cathode precursor plant in the DRC. This is three times cheaper than what a similar plant in the US would cost.