Next-Generation Cobalt-Free Cathodes – A Prospective Solution to the Battery Industry’s Cobalt Problem

Lithium-ion batteries are over-reliant on cobalt-containing cathodes. Current projections estimate hundreds of millions of electric vehicles (EVs) will be on the road by 2050, and this ever-growing demand threatens to deplete global cobalt reserves at an alarming rate. Moreover, cobalt supply-chain issues have significantly increased cobalt prices throughout the last decade. As such, energy storage research and development need to reduce reliance on cobalt to meet ever-growing demands for lithium-ion batteries. This chapter summarizes the science/technology gaps and potential of numerous cobalt-free Li-ion cathodes, including layered, spinel, olivine, and disordered rocksalt systems. Despite the promising performance of these Co-free cathodes, scale-up and manufacturing bottlenecks associated with these materials must also be addressed to enable widespread adoption in commercial batteries. Overall, this review broadly highlights the enormous promise of “zero-cobalt” Li-ion batteries to enable sustainable production of EVs in the coming decades.