Shortages of supplies of metals such as cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel could slow production of batteries in electric vehicles

According to reports, Moody's investor services wrote in a note to customers that there is a shortage of supplies of metals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel, or that it will slow down the production of in-vehicle batteries for electric vehicles.

With the increase in production of car companies such as Tesla, the demand for car battery metal has also increased. In addition, with the electric transformation of the automotive industry, many companies are committed to building a network of electric vehicle charging stations, aiming to increase the penetration rate of electric vehicles, which in turn has once again increased the demand for these battery metals. Production of electric vehicles may slow, however, because of limited supply of metals such as copper and nickel.

At present, the supply gap for refined copper and nickel metals will increase, and the demand for cobalt supply may appear next year. If the output of electric vehicles is lower than expected, lithium metal may be oversupplied after 2019.

Mining is needed to invest in New mines to meet rising demand, but less is being spent because the industry is still paying for mergers and acquisitions caused by a miscalculation four years ago and mining companies are trying to make ends meet.

In most cases, cobalt metal is a companion to copper or nickel, and the increase in production depends to a large extent on the mining of new copper and nickel mines.

Rising metal prices will benefit miners, but will cause market price volatility. Batteries are the most expensive part of electric vehicles, and the rising price of battery metal is forcing the car industry to explore new alternative battery materials.

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