The new facility will extract cobalt from used batteries.
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced this week that Electra Battery Materials Corporation has received a $20 million award to complete an industrial cobalt refining facility. Cobalt sulfate is a crucial component of all batteries, including the batteries required by solar panels, electric vehicles, and other renewable energy technologies.
Modern-day cobalt mining is known for perpetuating human rights violations, including child labor, forced labor, and forced evictions off of cobalt-rich land. To avoid using cobalt sourced through these practices, the Defense Department has turned to developing a battery recycling program in the U.S. and Canada. Electra’s new cobalt refining facility will extract the cobalt from used batteries, which is still usable for new batteries even when the previous battery’s energy is depleted.
“This award will develop North American production of a key precursor material for large capacity batteries, helping to create a more robust industrial base capable of meeting growing demand across both the defense and commercial sectors,” said Assistant Secretary Laura Taylor-Kale of the Defense Industrial Base Policy.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Assistant Secretary Taylor-Kale to be led by the Lord as she oversees Defense Industrial Base Policy.
- For Secretary Austin and Pentagon officials as they pursue the recapture of critical minerals for recycling in renewable energy.
Sources: Department of Defense, Congressional-Executive Commission on China
