Cobalt is also used in the oil industry as a catalyst to remove sulfur from fuel. This happens in rather large quantities and the cobalt tends to have rather dubious origins as well. At least with batteries we get to recycle the cobalt, lithium and other materials, eventually. They are not permanently lost. Even our waste deposits actually contain rather large amounts of rare earths. Once they get rare enough, we'll be mining our own waste.
Economics basically push us in the right direction. Hard to source metals drive up the price and give a cost advantage to batteries that don't require them. That's already happening with Tesla. The same dynamic is pushing people away from oil before we've run out of it because it is getting more expensive over time.
Economics basically push us in the right direction. Hard to source metals drive up the price and give a cost advantage to batteries that don't require them. That's already happening with Tesla. The same dynamic is pushing people away from oil before we've run out of it because it is getting more expensive over time.