While EV registrations rose by 3.2% in May in the EU and the first mega battery recycling plant opened in British Columbia, OilPrice.com notes that cobalt remains a critical supply risk for premium EVs-a vulnerability that the rise of LFP only partially addresses.
Jun 25, 2026 at 03:01 12 9
The EV sector has massively adopted cobalt-free LFP batteries. But OilPrice warns: manufacturers that retain the NMC chemistry (high energy density) remain exposed to major supply disruptions concentrated in the DRC. The phantom risk is still there.
Jun 24, 2026 at 10:00 11 8
New car registrations in the EU rose by 3.2% in May 2026, driven by electric demand - in France, petrol car registrations have plummeted by 36.8% since January, signaling an accelerated market shift.
Jun 23, 2026 at 21:45 8 6
The rise of cobalt-free LFP batteries seemed to resolve dependence on the DRC-but a global analysis reveals that the risk remains intact for high-end EVs and that technological substitution has simply redistributed vulnerabilities.
Jun 23, 2026 at 21:44 11 4
In 2020, Tesla and BYD "solved" the cobalt problem by switching to LFP batteries. In June 2026, an OilPrice analysis shows that the EV industry remains exposed to a structural cobalt risk-concentrated precisely in the most profitable segments.
Jun 23, 2026 at 12:57 6 4
The EV industry believed it had freed itself from cobalt by massively adopting LFP chemistry. The latest report on supply disruptions in the DRC shows that the risk has not vanished-it has shifted to other links in the chain.
Jun 23, 2026 at 04:28 8 5
In 2020, Tesla and BYD announced the end of cobalt in their batteries. In 2026, production data tells a different story - and the DRC remains the hub of all vulnerabilities.
Jun 23, 2026 at 02:45 7 4
