$SCTFF #2 Cobalt Prices To Rocket As Tesla And App

$SCTFF #2 Cobalt Prices To Rocket As Tesla And Apple Scramble For Supplies

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Cob...plies.html

here’s a new metal in town, and it’s bigger than lithium—and hotter than any other commodity on the market right now.

Supply is fantastically tight and set to get phenomenally tighter.



Here are 5 reasons to keep a close eye on Scientific Metals (TSX:STM.V; OTC:SCTFF):

#1 The Cobalt Shortage Starts…Now

Lithium has been getting all the attention, but cobalt is just as important. By weight, lithium-ion batteries use more cobalt than lithium. We’ve already seen the lithium craze, and now it’s cobalt’s turn, and the supply and demand situation is a new producer’s dream.

Not only are we looking at a shortage already in 2017, but we’re looking at 20 percent demand growth every year. Simply put, EV makers are dependent on value chains that simply might not exist if we don’t get to new supply, fast.

GM, Toyota and Ford have no battery manufacturing experience, and all are taking cue from Tesla and China’s BYD because they make both. Likewise, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes don’t produce batteries, sourcing them to Samsung, LG Chem and Panasonic (OTC CRFY).

And for whoever is producing batteries, there just isn’t enough cobalt. The battery industry already uses some 42 percent of global cobalt production, while the rest is used in industrial and military applications—all competing for supply.