Potholes on the Road to Electric Cars

Business News/Analysis, China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Regulation, Labor, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

October 7, 2022

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by Lamar Johnson (Politico) … The Department of Labor plans to add lithium-ion batteries to a list of products whose components are known to be made using child or forced labor, write E&E News’ Jael Holzman and David Iaconangelo.

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The department made the designation because many lithium-ion batteries use cobalt in their production.

About 70 percent of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a 2016 Amnesty International report found that tens of thousands of Congolese children were working in mines for up to 12 hours per day.

China is the world’s largest cobalt processor, while the U.S. is home to zero cobalt processing plants.

The report also cites China’s use of forced labor in the production of polysilicon, a key component of solar panels. The import of solar panels using polysilicon from the Xinjiang region is banned in the U.S.

While auto companies are moving toward cobalt-free batteries, EVs with cobalt-component batteries are expected to make up parts of the market, at least in the short term. READ MORE

Electric vehicles are exploding from water damage after Hurricane Ian, top Florida official warns — Florida’s chief fire marshal and financial officer said there are a ‘ton of EVs disabled’ from Hurricane Ian (Fox News)

Short Lithium Supply Pumps Brakes on EV Boom (World War Zero; includes VIDEOs)

Excerpt from Fox News: A top Florida state official warned Thursday that firefighters have battled a number of fires caused by electric vehicle (EV) batteries waterlogged from Hurricane Ian.

EV batteries that have been waterlogged in the wake of the hurricane are at risk of corrosion, which could lead to unexpected fires, according to Jimmy Patronis, the state’s top financial officer and fire marshal.

“There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start,” Patronis tweeted Thursday. “That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale.” READ MORE

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