Cobalt is crucial for batteries, notably in electric vehicles and U.S. military applications, but its primary sources raise concerns due to human rights issues and foreign dependencies. Most cobalt is refined in China, leaving the U.S. vulnerable. With rising geopolitical tensions, Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. aims to address this issue through a novel production technique that creates highly refined cobalt in a single step. This technology may reshape the domestic cobalt market, with a pilot facility opening in Dayton, Ohio, enhancing local supply chain resilience amidst global uncertainties.
"Everybody's been worried about [China's leverage], but now they've actually shown that they'll cut off critical minerals," John Busbee, co-founder and CEO of Xerion Advanced Battery Corp., told TechCrunch.
"We always knew it was [a] critical mineral, and it's something we thought about addressing later," Busbee said. But now, with a global trade war raging, the company decided to refocus its efforts on cobalt.
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