Can the Democratic Republic of the Congo produce lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials?

London and Kinshasa, November 24, 2021 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can leverage its abundant cobalt resources and hydroelectric power to become a low-cost and low-emissions producer of lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials.

Should lithium-ion batteries be expanded to DRC and Africa?

“As substantiated by the BloombergNEF report, the prospect of the expanding the value chain of development of lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles value chains to DRC and Africa is both financially and environmentally appealing,” commented Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

Could African countries play a major role in the lithium-ion battery supply chain?

African countries could play a major role in the lithium-ion battery supply chain by taking advantage of their abundant natural resources and onshoring more of the value chain.

Is Africa a good place to buy a battery?

Africa has a wealth of critical battery raw materials and is in a position to use these to attract more value-add in downstream processing and manufacturing.”

Why is the DRC a cost competitive country?

“The DRC’s cost competitiveness comes from its relatively cheap access to land and low engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, cost compared to the U.S., Poland and China,” said Kwasi Ampofo, lead author of the report and BNEF’s head of metals and mining.