Cobalt 2050: Unlocking Potential for a Net-Zero Future
8 October 2024
Cobalt is a technology-enabling metal that is part of the solution to the green and just energy transition. It is a key part of the lithium-ion batteries that gives electric vehicles the range and durability needed by consumers. It is also used in electronic devices, jet engines and renewable energy storage, to name a few. Additional cobalt chemical properties allow for hard wearing and abrasion resistance, advanced pigment solutions and various other uses. Cobalt can be recycled and reused over and over, playing an essential role in the green energy transition.
How exactly can it contribute to a net zero world?
Cobalt Institute, together with Bloomberg NEF, developed the “Cobalt 2050” Study – the first of its kind for any energy transition metal. The study takes a deep dive into the potential of cobalt to help reach climate neutrality and discusses the actions needed to foster the transition to net zero. The study demonstrates how cobalt underpins energy transition by producing scenarios for the cobalt demand development by 2050.
The Cobalt Institute webinar focussed on the essential role of cobalt in achieving the green and just energy transition by 2050. During the webinar, Bloomberg NEF presented the study and Cobalt Institute will discuss how the “Cobalt 2050” study findings can inform policy decisions and strategies around the world.
Webinar recording
THE “COBALT 2050” STUDY
Agenda
| Welcome remarks. Dinah McLeod, Director General, Cobalt Institute |
| Study presentation. Kwasi Ampofo, Head of Metals and Mining, Bloomberg NEF |
| Discussion with Jörgen Sandström, Head of the Industrial Transformation Program, World Economic Forum |
| Q&A with audience |
speakers
Jörgen Sandström,
Head of the Industrial Transformation Program,
World Economic Forum
Jörgen Sandström is the Head of the Industrial Transformation Program at the World Economic Forum.
In this role, he leads several teams working at the forefront of industry transformation, energy transition, sustainability, and decarbonization.
These CEO-led initiatives aim to deliver net-zero materials ecosystems, unlock the technologies, finance, and policies that will enable them, and design new sustainable business models for future performance.
Current initiatives under the program include:
- Net Zero Industry Clusters initiative: Accelerates the transition to net-zero emissions clusters.
- Accelerating Clean Hydrogen initiative: Establishes new collaborative efforts to scale clean hydrogen.
- Clean Power and Electrification for Industry: Scales up clean power infrastructure for industrial transformation.
- Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition: Promotes collaboration and innovation to ensure the availability of sustainable and affordable minerals, thereby accelerating the energy transition.
Jörgen is the former Head of the Mining and Metals Industry at the World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum’s Mining & Metals Industry community consists of the world’s leading mining and metals companies, representing a broad range of commodities and regions.
Jörgen has twenty years of experience working with energy and commodities as well as in diplomacy.
From 2008 to 2016, he was the Executive Officer of Addax Bioenergy SA. As a founding partner, he led the development of a large bioenergy venture in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Before that, Jörgen was with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, with postings in Russia, Switzerland, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Estonia.
Dinah McLeod,
Director General,
Cobalt Institute
Dinah comes with a wealth of experience in sustainability and expertise in leadership, strategic planning, and membership liaison having previously served as the CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association where she was responsible for overseeing membership relations, external communications, policy, and strategy. Throughout her career, Dinah worked for a range of development and public policy projects at the World Bank, as well as lead business and sustainability practices at think tanks, leadership initiatives, and private sector.
A dual Canadian and British national, Dinah holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Columbia University and a Master’s degree from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Kwasi Ampofo
Head of Metals and Mining,
Bloomberg NEF
Kwasi Ampofo is the Head of Metals and Mining at BloombergNEF based in London. His team’s research covers industrial metals, rare-earth metals, battery metals and the pathways for miners to reach net-zero. Prior to BloombergNEF, he was a mining engineer at Anglo American and a management consultant at Nous Group in Australia. He completed his PhD in Mineral Economics at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is currently a non-executive director at Amira Global.