Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has reached a deal with electric vehicle battery materials producer EVelution Energy to sell cobalt to the latter.

Under the five-year agreement, which is effective from 2026, ERG will supply cobalt hydroxide to EVelution’s cobalt processing facility in the US.

ERG is expected to sell 3,000 tonnes of contained cobalt metal a year to EVelution, reported Reuters.

The cobalt hydroxide is due to be supplied by Metalkol, ERG’s operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Construction on EVelution’s low-carbon cobalt sulphate plant in Arizona, US, is expected to start in 2024. It is scheduled to be commissioned by 2026 and will be powered with solar energy.

In a press statement, ERG said: “The collaboration between ERG and EVelution is set to energise the US minerals sector, and further the sustainability agenda by creating more manufacturing jobs in the US, as well as helping to combat climate change on a global scale.

“Cooperation between the two companies also supports the development of the US-based cobalt mineral processing industry. Currently, there are no cobalt processing facilities, on a commercial scale, in the US, with over 70% of the global production of cobalt sulphate based in China.”

ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka said collaboration between ERG and EVelution will support the green energy transition.

It will also help in bringing much-needed cobalt refining capacity to the US, he added.

EVelution Energy president and CEO Navaid Alam said: “This agreement, as well as those we are negotiating with other supply partners, ensures that we will have the cobalt hydroxide feedstock that we need to satisfy our clients’ growing demand for domestically produced, IRA qualified, carbon-neutral EV battery grade cobalt sulphate in North America.”