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Introduction:
Many readers of this fact sheet will be surprised to learn Environmental Uses Include
the countless ways this metal is essential to our daily lives
- from cobalt’s environmental applications to its applica- Hybrid electric vehicle batteries
tions in health, communications, common household Fuel cell technologies
items, travel and national defense. The relationship of this Solar panel and wind turbine generators
essential metal to our daily lives is simple - modern soci- Catalyst in de-sulfurizing crude oil and as a catalyst in
ety without cobalt cannot function! hydrogenation, oxidation, reduction, and synthesis of hy-
drocarbons
Cobalt is also considered a strategic metal by the US gov- Solar energy conversion
ernment. A strategic material is a commodity whose lack Coal to liquid technology
of availability during a national emergency would seriously Gas to liquid technology (GTL) – The application of this
affect the economic, industrial, and defensive capability of technology is expected to result in a major new demand
the US. The US is almost completely import dependent for for cobalt. GTL has the potential to convert enough
its supplies of cobalt, and imports about 20% of world pro- “stranded” natural gas reserves into ultra-low emission
duction. There is no current domestic primary production liquid petroleum fuels to supply the world’s energy needs.
of cobalt. The US must rely on foreign sources for all of its This technology will help eliminate the need for flaring
supply. The largest known deposit of cobalt in the US is natural gas in association with oil production, allowing
near Salmon, ID. development and production from wells previously closed
due to inability to dispose of stranded natural gas.
Most of the cobalt consumed in the world originates in the
West African countries of Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) and Zambia, and from nickel production in Russia,
China, Canada, Cuba and Australia. A significant amount
of world production comes from DRC, Zambia and Russia
where free markets are an unknown or recent experience.
In Cuba, a trade embargo still exists with the US.
Applications of Cobalt:
Super alloys