Panasonic suspends Cuban ingredients -Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment
Japan's Panasonic said on the 19th that it had suspended cooperation with a Canadian company because the company supplied Panasonic with a raw material for TSLA electric car batteries produced in Cuba.
In response to a question from Reuters, a Panasonic spokesman did not name the Canadian company, saying only that Panasonic has used cobalt from the company to make the TSLA Model S sedan and Model X sports utility vehicle since February. Batteries included.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
According to the spokesman, raw materials from various suppliers are mixed in the battery production process, so it is unclear how much of the ferromagnetic metal from Cuba is used. Panasonic is seeking "guidance" from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control over the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
The United States and Cuba severed diplomatic relations in 1961. The following year, then-US President John F. Kennedy signed a decree imposing economic and financial sanctions and a trade embargo against Cuba, which has continued to this day.
It's unclear when Panasonic discovered Cuban-sourced cobalt in battery feedstock, or when the Japanese company and the Canadian company stopped working together.
Two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the Canadian supplier was Sherritt International. The miner's spokesman, Joe Lacanelli, declined to answer whether the cobalt was sold to Panasonic: "We do not respond to questions about specific customer activity."
Cobalt is one of the important raw materials for making electric vehicle batteries. As the electric vehicle industry has grown in recent years, the demand and price of cobalt have continued to rise globally.
TSLA did not respond to questions about whether the batteries contained Cuban materials and whether the company violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba. A spokesperson responded only: "TSLA is committed to near-zero cobalt use in the near future."
The electric car maker decided in May to reduce the amount of cobalt in batteries over the next few years.
In response to a question from Reuters, a Panasonic spokesman did not name the Canadian company, saying only that Panasonic has used cobalt from the company to make the TSLA Model S sedan and Model X sports utility vehicle since February. Batteries included.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
According to the spokesman, raw materials from various suppliers are mixed in the battery production process, so it is unclear how much of the ferromagnetic metal from Cuba is used. Panasonic is seeking "guidance" from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control over the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
The United States and Cuba severed diplomatic relations in 1961. The following year, then-US President John F. Kennedy signed a decree imposing economic and financial sanctions and a trade embargo against Cuba, which has continued to this day.
It's unclear when Panasonic discovered Cuban-sourced cobalt in battery feedstock, or when the Japanese company and the Canadian company stopped working together.
Two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the Canadian supplier was Sherritt International. The miner's spokesman, Joe Lacanelli, declined to answer whether the cobalt was sold to Panasonic: "We do not respond to questions about specific customer activity."
Cobalt is one of the important raw materials for making electric vehicle batteries. As the electric vehicle industry has grown in recent years, the demand and price of cobalt have continued to rise globally.
TSLA did not respond to questions about whether the batteries contained Cuban materials and whether the company violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba. A spokesperson responded only: "TSLA is committed to near-zero cobalt use in the near future."
The electric car maker decided in May to reduce the amount of cobalt in batteries over the next few years.
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