Innovative company makes breakthrough that could be game-changer in US-China trade fight: 'We always knew it was out there'

New technology could solve America's cobalt refining problem for good, reported TechCrunch.

Cobalt is one of the best battery materials, but getting it has been challenging. Most reserves come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining practices have raised human rights concerns. Even more problematic is that 72% of cobalt refining happens in China.

The problem affects more than electric vehicles. The U.S. military depends on cobalt for lithium-ion batteries in drones and alloys in jet engines and missile guidance systems. Currently, however, there are no cobalt refineries in the United States.

Xerion Advanced Battery Corp has developed a solution. The company uses electricity and a small amount of heat to produce highly refined cobalt in just one step.

"Everybody's been worried about China's leverage, but now they've actually shown that they'll cut off critical minerals," explained John Busbee, co-founder and CEO of Xerion.

The technology wasn't initially designed for cobalt production. Xerion had been perfecting a process to create better battery electrodes, using electricity to draw metals from a molten salt bath. While making their battery material on one electrode, they noticed something valuable forming on the other: incredibly pure cobalt metal.

"We always knew it was out there," Busbee said. "We always knew it was a critical mineral, and it's something we thought about addressing later."

With increasing concerns about supply chains, Xerion is shifting its focus. The company is opening a pilot facility in Dayton, Ohio, that will produce five metric tons of cobalt. Though a small amount compared to global demand, it's a start toward addressing U.S. military needs, which range from 5,000 to 10,000 metric tons for aerospace alloys.

The company's next-generation plant aims to produce 2,000 metric tons annually. What makes this development particularly exciting is that even at the pilot scale, Xerion matches China's production costs.

"Even at that scale, we're already on even heel with China," Busbee noted.

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This innovation offers multiple benefits. For you, it means more secure supply chains for batteries in everything from personal tablets to electric vehicles. It also helps reduce dependence on mining practices that harm both people and the environment.

By bringing cobalt refining to American soil, Xerion's technology helps strengthen national security while creating cleaner manufacturing jobs. The environmental benefits are significant too — shorter supply chains mean reduced shipping pollution and a smaller carbon footprint for the batteries powering our clean energy transition.

As global trade tensions continue, having domestic sources of critical materials becomes increasingly important. If Xerion's pilot facility proves successful, this technology might scale up rapidly over the next few years, with full-scale production facilities potentially online by 2027.

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