Cobalt for batteries is sometimes mined under inhumane conditions. Mercedes wants to reduce the need for the metal in the future.
Mercedes wants to make the electric car more ethically correct and reduce the use of controversial cobalt. In the next generation of battery cells, the proportion of metal is to be reduced to less than ten percent. In the future, the material should disappear completely from the electric car, at the latest when a successor technology for the lithium-ion batteries is available.
Cobalt is an indispensable raw material for battery production, and not just for cars. Worldwide demand is constantly increasing. According to Amnesty International, more than half of the cobalt requirement is met from mines in the Congo, in which around 40.000 children work. The organization has long criticized the car manufacturers for not paying enough attention to their supply chains.
The industry, including Mercedes in particular, BMW and Tesla, has reacted in recent years and is trying to reduce the demand for cobalt. At the same time, attempts are being made to improve conditions on site. Mercedes, for example, claims that it sources cobalt and lithium exclusively from certified mining. Critical countries of origin such as the Congo are deliberately not generally excluded as a source of supply, since the mining business is an important source of income for the population there.
