Panasonic may have developed a cobalt-free electric vehicle battery design. That would greatly simplify the supply chain for its main customer Tesla which would otherwise face legislative and reputational risk in DRC supplies or competition for direct acquisition of resources from elsewhere in the world. Demand for the metal remains strong with U.S. imports having climbed 17% in the first quarter on a year earlier. The main threat comes from China whose importers’ demand is equivalent to 5.1x that of the U.S. Yet, the sense of urgency may have passed as cobalt prices have remained unchan...