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Cobalt Institute

The Cobalt Institute is a trade association for the global cobalt industry.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Hana Jalloul Muro (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

14 Jan 2026 · Critical Raw Materials

Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2025 · Cobalt Industry

Meeting with Radan Kanev (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2025 · The circular effects on the Colbalt industry and their role in competitiveness for Europe.

Meeting with Joan Canton (Head of Unit Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Umicore and Jervois Global

25 Nov 2025 · Exchange of views related to the proposed occupational exposure limit for Cobalt and related initiatives

Cobalt Institute urges market-based measures for circular battery materials

5 Nov 2025
Topic — The consultation addresses the proposed Circular Economy Act to enhance EU sustainability.
Message — The Cobalt Institute requests market-based measures to unlock recycling investment. They urge policy coherence regarding worker exposure limits to prevent industry flight. Additionally, they advocate for horizontal traceability rules and risk-based waste shipment standards.1234
Why — Maintaining competitive costs would prevent the European cobalt recycling industry from collapsing.5
Impact — International workers lose health protections if recycling shifts to jurisdictions with lower standards.67
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Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament) and Umicore

4 Nov 2025 · Cobalt

Meeting with Grégory Allione (Member of the European Parliament)

22 Oct 2025 · Echange en préparation de rapport Shadow sur CMRD6

Response to Protection of workers from risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work

21 Oct 2025

Cobalt is an EU critical and strategic raw material, as well as being classified as a NATO critical mineral given its essential role in defence. Europes political goals security, circular economy, energy transition, and strategic autonomy all necessitate a growing cobalt sector in Europe. This can be done safely. We support a 20 μg Co/m³ (inhalable) Occupational Exposure Limit for cobalt. We additionally support the introduction of a respirable limit value at 4.2 μg Co/m³ (respirable). These values are effectively the lowest in the world and would make a Europe a leader in terms of strict worker protections. Scientific and socio-economic evidence shows this limit value is the best for protecting workers and whilst hard for industry causes the least harm to the EUs broader political goals of the options proposed. In contrast, the 10 μg Co/m³ (inhalable) and 2.5 μg Co/m³ (respirable) values are net negative for worker protection, and would additionally devastate Europes cobalt industry, with corresponding impacts for Europes competitiveness, security, defence and green economy. In reality, adopting this value would result in a significant decline in well-protected European jobs and would divert investment to jurisdictions that have looser regulation. The result would be increased reliance on non-EU supply, greater political risk, more expensive manufacturing in Europe, and greater cobalt exposure for workers globally. Europe will miss its Critical Raw Material Act benchmarks for cobalt. With the introduction of this legislation, it will likely find itself significantly further away from them in 2030 than it was in 2024. But its not too late to protect workers and create a better Europe by implementing a 20 μg Co/m³.
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Meeting with Aleksandra Kordecka (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and Nickel Institute and European Precious Metals Federation

2 Oct 2025 · Implementation of the Steel and Metals Action Plan

Meeting with Aleksandra Kordecka (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and Flint Europe

26 Aug 2025 · Discussion on current challenges of the Cobalt raw material sector and relevant EU initiatives

Meeting with Hana Jalloul Muro (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

26 Aug 2025 · UE and Critical Raw Materials

Cobalt Institute supports battery regulation delay and scope expansion

29 Jul 2025
Topic — The consultation addresses proposed amendments to EU battery regulation regarding due diligence obligations.
Message — The institute supports a two-year implementation delay while requesting timely guidance for compliance. They also demand that the scope include all industrial battery chemistries to ensure a level playing field.12
Why — A delay helps companies avoid non-compliance and reduces the administrative burden of reporting.34
Impact — Manufacturers of alternative battery chemistries lose their current cost advantage over sustainably produced products.5
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Response to Mini omnibus for defence

28 Jul 2025

Cobalt Institute Response Cobalt is classified as both a Critical Raw Material and a Strategic Raw Material in the European Union (EU), as it plays a fundamental role in the EUs defence sector, strategic autonomy and energy transition of the EU. Cobalt is vital to the defence sector, essential for various applications such as missiles, jet turbines, cobalt-containing magnets for control systems, and batteries used in optics devices, unmanned drones, and electrified tactical vehicle . For many of these applications, cobalts properties are unmatched, making cobalt extremely difficult to substitute. Nato recently acknowledged cobalts critical role in the defence sector and classified it as a critical defence raw material . Key actions to strengthen EU Defence capabilities through a secure and sustainable cobalt supply chain 1. Recognise cobalt as defence-critical for streamlined permitting. The Defence Readiness Omnibus rightly introduces streamlined permitting processes for critical defence readiness projects. Given cobalts indispensable role in advanced military and aerospace technologies, cobalt refining, recycling and production projects should qualify for these fast-track measures. 2. De-risk financing for strategic investments Securing cobalt is strategically vital but remains investment-intensive and high-risk, creating a risk to supply security and strategic autonomy for the defence sector. EU financial institutions should deploy de-risking instruments. Cobalt projects should also be prioritized under flexible State Aid frameworks (e.g. qualifying for flexible state-aid approval as strategic investments), ensuring robust and secure supply chains. 3. Ensure overall coherence with chemicals management legislation (Derogations cannot be seen as the long-term solution). European chemicals legislation like CLP, REACH and CMRD play an essential role in safeguarding public health and the environment. However, regulatory uncertainty, complexity, and a lack of coherence with other EU policies can create significant investment challenges, undermining Europes strategic autonomy. While the Omnibus defence exemptions is trying to support industry, the industry cannot rely on defence production alone. Derogations are not a sustainable solution. Clear and coherent chemicals policies are essential to support broader industrial activity and keep production viable in Europe. A clear example is the Occupational Exposure Limits for cobalt that the European Commission published with a recommendation limit of 10 μg Co/m³ (inhalable). Cobalt Institute has always supported the introduction of an EU-wide OEL limit for cobalt, however these values need to both protect workers, generate safe jobs in Europe and keep European industry operating competitively. Setting an Occupational Exposure Limit below the scientifically justified level of 20μg Co/m³ will severely undermine Europe's ambitions for domestic cobalt production and jeopardising defence readiness without enhancing worker safety, especially in comparison to the global environment with much higher values represented. Detailed Response Attached.
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Meeting with Elena Donazzan (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Jun 2025 · Incontro sui temi relativi alle materie prime, con focus sul cobalto

Meeting with Hana Jalloul Muro (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Jun 2025 · Critical Raw Materials

Meeting with Adam Romanowski (Cabinet of Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič), Charlotte Merlier (Cabinet of Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič)

7 May 2025 · Cobalt Industry

Meeting with Kamil Talbi (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen)

25 Mar 2025 · Cobalt

Meeting with Majdouline Sbai (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Mar 2025 · CRM DRC

Meeting with Gabriela Tschirkova (Cabinet of Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis)

6 Mar 2025 · critical raw material

Meeting with Hana Genorio (Cabinet of Commissioner Jozef Síkela), Riccardo Rossi (Cabinet of Commissioner Jozef Síkela)

6 Mar 2025 · Value of cobalt value chain; critical Raw Material

Meeting with Hilde Vautmans (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Mar 2025 · Cobalt industry in Europe

Meeting with Annukka Ojala (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu)

19 Feb 2025 · Revision of the Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances at work

Meeting with Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall)

27 Jan 2025 · Circular Economy and Critical Raw Materials

Meeting with Raphaël Glucksmann (Member of the European Parliament)

22 Jan 2025 · Critical raw materials

Meeting with Borys Budka (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

22 Jan 2025 · Critical Raw Materials

Cobalt Institute urges level playing field in battery recycling

18 Oct 2024
Topic — The Commission is establishing methodologies to calculate and verify battery recycling efficiency rates.
Message — The organization requests similar recycling requirements for all battery types to ensure technology neutrality. They want iron and phosphorus included to avoid favoring batteries that are not recycled.12
Why — This would protect the market position of cobalt batteries by equalizing regulatory costs.3
Impact — Producers of lithium iron phosphate batteries would face significant new recycling and compliance costs.45
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Meeting with Bart Groothuis (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Critical raw materials

Meeting with Kathleen Van Brempt (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Sept 2024 · Critical minerals

Meeting with Iuliu Winkler (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Sept 2024 · CRM act & trade policy priorities

Meeting with Miriam Lexmann (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Sept 2024 · Implementation of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act

Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Sept 2024 · Critical Raw Materials

Cobalt Institute supports new battery carbon footprint methodology

24 May 2024
Topic — This consultation defines the methodology for calculating electric vehicle battery carbon footprints.
Message — The Institute supports using charge-discharge cycles and warranties to simplify calculations and ensure fair comparisons. They request that battery warranties be tied to original applications to prevent inflated lifespan claims.12
Why — The new calculation simplifies compliance and ensures fair comparability between different battery products.34
Impact — Producers of inefficient vehicles can no longer benefit from methodologies that artificially lower footprints.56
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Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

16 Apr 2024 · Discussion on the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act

Meeting with Thomas Woolfson (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

23 Jan 2024 · EU and supply chain for cobalt

Meeting with Ruud Kempener (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson)

14 Jul 2023 · Introductory meeting with the Cobalt Institute to discuss the cobalt industry’s views on the Critical Raw Materials Act

Meeting with Franc Bogovič (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion)

30 May 2023 · Meeting on Critical raw materials

Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

12 May 2023 · Critical Raw Materials Act

Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

2 May 2023

Please find attached the Cobalt Institute's response to the Critical Raw Material Act.
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Meeting with Pierre-Arnaud Proux (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Thomas Woolfson (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

9 Feb 2023 · Raw materials, chemical legislation

Meeting with Caroline Boeshertz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis)

8 Feb 2023 · Critical Raw Materials Act

Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

22 Nov 2022

Please see attached the Cobalt Institute's response to this consultation. In summary, cobalt demand is likely to grow significantly as Europe transitions to a green economy. It is a critical mineral in this context and likely to be strategically important in the future. We make the following recommendations, which are elaborated on later in this submission: - The Communication accompanying the Critical Raw Materials Act should set out a plan to deepen relationships with partner countries that will be strategically important for the supply of cobalt. - The Critical Raw Materials Act should establish a mechanism to ensure that strategic critical minerals have special political consideration under chemicals management rules like REACH and OSH. - Consideration should be given to the technology neutrality of recycling efficiency and recycled content proposals in the Critical Raw Materials Act. It should be designed to apply commensurate requirements to all critical minerals. In addition to the contents of this submission, we support the submissions made by the Critical Raw Materials Alliance and Eurometaux.
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Meeting with Suvi Leinonen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen) and Rud Pedersen Public Affairs Brussels

21 Sept 2022 · Critical raw materials

Meeting with Andrea Beltramello (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis), Caroline Boeshertz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis)

8 Apr 2022 · Responsible minerals, due diligence, forced labour

Meeting with Sarah Nelen (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

8 Jun 2021 · Batteries Regulation

Response to Revision of EU legislation on registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals

28 May 2021

The Cobalt Institute represents over 75% of global cobalt production and processing. It is a non-profit trade association composed of producers, users, recyclers, and traders of cobalt. We promote the sustainable and responsible production and use of cobalt in all its forms. The Cobalt Institute recognises the need for greater efficiency when classifying and risk managing substances and that the assessments being undertaken are often complex and difficult. However, we do not think the current proposals strike the right balance. Our response mainly focuses on the proposed generic approach to risk assessment and “essential use” derogation.
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Cobalt industry urges realistic targets in battery rules

26 Feb 2021
Topic — Commission updates legislation to regulate the lifecycle and sustainability of all battery types.
Message — The institute requests horizontal due diligence rules instead of battery-specific mandates. They also demand risk-based chemical restrictions and evidence-based recycling targets.12
Why — Horizontal rules would prevent market distortions and lower compliance costs for producers.34
Impact — Human rights advocates lose targeted oversight that addresses specific risks in battery supply chains.5
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Cobalt Institute urges EU binding exposure limit for cobalt

13 Nov 2020
Topic — EU initiative to maintain high occupational health and safety standards for workers through 2027.
Message — The Cobalt Institute requests the European Commission prioritize a binding occupational exposure limit for all cobalt compounds under safety at work legislation. They argue this is a more effective alternative than restrictions under chemicals regulation.12
Why — This would provide harmonized regulatory management across the EU while avoiding double regulation and restrictive chemical bans.34
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Cobalt Institute urges binding exposure limits for workers

9 Nov 2020
Topic — The consultation concerns protecting workers from risks related to carcinogens at work.
Message — The Cobalt Institute requests a binding occupational exposure limit for all cobalt compounds. They argue this should replace proposed restrictions to ensure effective risk management.12
Why — This would create a harmonized regulatory environment and avoid overlapping regulations.3
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Meeting with Maria Arena (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Sept 2020 · Virtual Roundtable on Responsible sourcing: Ensuring a Sustainable Value Chain for Cobalt

Meeting with Lucrezia Busa (Cabinet of Commissioner Didier Reynders)

23 Sept 2020 · Sustainable corporate governance

Cobalt Institute urges horizontal rules for responsible metal sourcing

9 Jul 2020
Topic — This consultation updates EU battery legislation covering production, collection, and recycling cycles.
Message — The group advocates for a Regulation to ensure consistent rules across all member states. They propose horizontal legislation for responsible sourcing across all sectors, not just batteries. The proposal should also promote battery durability to reduce material loss during recycling.123
Why — A single Regulation would provide industry with legal certainty across all member states.4
Impact — Companies importing cobalt for non-battery applications would face new mandatory sourcing checks.5
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Response to Chemicals strategy for sustainability

19 Jun 2020

Feedback is submitted as an attachment.
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Meeting with Sarah Nelen (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

5 May 2020 · Batteries and REACH restriction on cobalt salts

Meeting with Gwenole Cozigou (Acting Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

21 Jan 2020 · Courtesy meeting introducing Cobalt Institute and discuss future Industry policy