Alliance to make optimal use of batteries

Luxembourg-headquartered Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is eyeing the booming energy market in China by launching a global energy program, which seeks among other things to set up a responsible battery supply chain in the country and globally.

The international metals and mining company is a major producer of cobalt, a critical element used to make lithium-ion batteries, and plans to become one of the largest suppliers of the metal to China by the end of 2018.

The program, Global Battery Alliance, or simply “Alliance”, was launched recently at the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Impact Summit in New York. Together with other co-founders, ERG established the program to ensure that all lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and alternative energy technologies, including solar panels and electric cars, are supplied from reliable, sustainable and ethical sources.

“Given that cobalt is a critical component of lithiumion batteries, we have a unique responsibility to ensure that the energy of the future comes from ethical sources,” said Benedikt Sobotka, chief executive officer of ERG.

Dominic Waughray, head of Public-Private Partnerships at the World Economic Forum, said that “the phones may be smart, but the system is certainly not sustainable. All the electronic waste we discarded in 2014 was worth $52 billion. It contained 300 metric tons of gold and significant amounts of silver and palladium.”

“To get these rare minerals and metals so that all our phone, car and toothbrush batteries work smartly, many poor people are paying a terrible cost, as is the environment,” Waughray said.

“The Alliance seeks to fix this, with companies, nongovernmental organizations and international organizations coming together to clean up supply chains and re-use battery waste. The World Economic Forum, as the international organization for public-private cooperation, is pleased to lend its platforms and networks to help advance this important project.”

ERG is taking a lead in the Alliance and partnering with other major businesses and international organizations, including China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC), a unit of the Ministry of Commerce.

Chen Feng, president of CCCMC, said China is teaming up with foreign energy enterprises, such as ERG, Belgian company Umicore and Tokyo-based NEC Corp, to optimize global resource allocation in the battery field.

“There should be a mineral supply chain set up globally, in order to help miners from China and foreign countries work in a safer and more sustainable manner,” he said.

Apart from being a leader in initiatives such as the Alliance and RCI, for many years, ERG has been funding scholarships that enable talented Kazakh pupils to study in China at higher education institutes, such as the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

The program facilitates both a valuable cultural exchange between countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative, and also creates a talent pool to support business cooperation between the economies, Sobotka said.

Given that cobalt is a critical component of lithium-ion batteries, we have a unique responsibility to ensure that the energy of the future comes from ethical sources.” Benedikt Sobotka, chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group