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Are battery component minerals the new oil?

In the race for electrification, we can make the same mistakes as in the case of oil. Of course, we all like electric vehicles because they are fast, silent, efficient and of course, green.

But this may come with a price.

We are all too familiar with the public opinion of the reason behind invading Irak, killing Libyan leader Gaddafi or other military interventions: it was for oil supply control.

Cobalt, lithium, nickel are minerals that could be the reason for the next war or for the next regime-imposed by a foreign force. Let’s remember CIA’s 1953 “Operation Ajax” in Iran. It was the first covert action of the United States to overthrow a foreign government during peacetime. It was caused by the nationalisation of a British own company that gained control of the Iranian oil reserves.

How can we prevent a future foreign military intervention in Congo, for example, that holds aprox. 65% of world Cobalt reserves? It would be easy to show the world how child labour is used by the mining companies to extract the cobalt ore. And that would call for an international intervention to stop that. And so, it begins…

We must be smarter and to learn from our mistakes. The Western World has the feeling that green is easy and they bring their contribution to lowering the greenhouse gas production while they travel. But this is only one side of the story and we have to see the bigger picture.

Scientist should work harder in finding battery alternatives or different technologies to produce clean energy.

There are some scientist that suggest deep sea mining in international waters to prevent material dependency on a single country. Some even propose space mining.

Regardless of the solution or solutions chosen we must be careful not to destroy the environment and the lives of people caught in the middle of the fight for resources.

Otherwise, a technology that is supposed to help the World climate will only change the scope of the war: minerals instead of oil.

Are battery component minerals the new oil?