Human toll of electric vehicle batteries

author: FutureCar Staff    

The world is rapidly transitioning from internal combustion engines to battery-powered electric engines for cars and trucks. In line with this shift, the European Union has announced a ban on the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035. The goal is to achieve a world with net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. However, the development of electric car batteries has relied heavily on the exploitation of African miners, particularly in poor regions.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which power most electrical devices including electric car batteries, use cobalt to enhance their performance and stability. Cobalt also reduces the risk of battery fires. In 2021, electric vehicles surpassed smartphones and PCs as the main source of cobalt demand, consuming 59,000 tonnes, which accounts for 34% of total demand.

Efforts are underway to develop batteries that do not rely on cobalt, but this could have unintended consequences for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC holds up to 70% of the world's accessible cobalt reserves. While most cobalt mining companies in the DRC are Chinese, there is also a western-owned mining sector. African miners have reported worse working conditions in Chinese mines compared to western mines, and there have been allegations of racist abuse in Chinese mines. Western mining companies are subject to western-style regulations, but instances of bribery and human rights abuses have also occurred in these firms.

One major issue in the DRC is "artisanal" mining, where independent subsistence miners extract cobalt by hand, crush and wash the rocks, and sell the metal for very low prices. Artisanal mining accounts for up to 20% of the DRC's cobalt production, with Chinese companies being significant buyers. Between 150,000 and 200,000 artisanal miners, including 80,000 children, work in cobalt deposits in the DRC, and over a million people depend on their work for their livelihood. These miners earn between $0.75 and $3 a day, while the average annual income in the DRC is only $800. The majority of the population lives in extreme poverty, earning less than $1.25 a day.

The conditions for artisanal miners are dire, but they continue this work due to the lack of alternative employment opportunities. The work is labor-intensive and highly dangerous, with frequent mine collapses and injuries. Miners are exposed to pollution and toxic materials without proper protective clothing. Recently, 15 people died in a collapse of an artisanal mining shaft.

While research is underway to develop cobalt-free batteries, this could have a negative impact on the DRC. A significant decrease in global demand for cobalt would leave hundreds of thousands of poor Africans without income, living in a landscape devastated by mining and unable to support agriculture.

The push to replace petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles heavily relies on the exploitation of African workers in the DRC. Despite this knowledge, little has been done to address the issue. However, the DRC government recently established the Enterprise Generale du Cobalt (EGC), which has monopoly rights to buy, process, and market artisanal cobalt. The aim is to restore mining standards and sell cobalt that is ethically sourced without human rights abuses.

It remains to be seen how effective the EGC will be, considering the severe problems faced by the DRC government and its limited enforcement reach. Frequent wars and illegal mining by armed groups further weaken the country's ability to utilize its vast natural resources.

The DRC gained independence in 1960 but has since faced a series of wars and poor governance. Centuries of exploitative colonization left the indigenous people and their institutions in a state of poverty. Despite being one of the largest countries in Africa and possessing abundant natural resources such as copper, gold, diamonds, cobalt, coltan, platinum, and oil, the DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

The DRC's vast natural resource base, which should be its greatest asset, has instead been a curse, attracting exploitative practices that benefit only a few while leaving the majority of citizens impoverished. It is high time these resources are used to benefit the ordinary people of the DRC.

FutureCar Staff