August 2021, by Carina Körner, Eric Mwamba, Vanessa Schlesier, Lukas Augustin
LUBUMBASHI, KOLWEZI, BERLIN – To make the batteries for electric cars, manufacturers need cobalt. This documentary shows the efforts of the European car industry to ensure proper supply chains, and documents in the cobalt mines in the Congo that this is impossible.
Whoever buys an electric car wants an automobile that has the least possible impact on the environment. But to make the batteries for electric cars, manufacturers need cobalt. This coveted raw material is mined under conditions of human suffering.
The 45 minute long documentary “Clean cars, dirty batteries – cobalt mining in the Congo” aired on the German public TV channel ZDFinfo. It shows the efforts of the European car industry to ensure proper supply chains, and documents in the cobalt mines in the Congo that this is impossible.
Published: ZDF, Grand Journal