Investors are running up the prices for cobalt, an important element that automakers and suppliers use in lithium ion batteries as they prepare for an increase in electric vehicle production.
The batteries are used in both electric and hybrid vehicles. Investors plan to amass and sit on cobalt until its price rises with demand, Reuters reported last month.
The Reuters report said Shanghai Chaos Investments and Switzerland-based Pala Investments as two of the companies that invested in cobalt last year, although the amount they’ve stockpiled is unknown.
