COBALT Act of 2022

To acquire cobalt refining capacity in the United States, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cobalt Optimizes Batteries And Leading Technologies Act of 2022 COBALT Act of 2022 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The National Defense Stockpile lacks sufficient cobalt reserves, falling from 13,000 tons during the Cold War to only 333 tons today. (2) The United States currently produces zero newly refined cobalt, making the United States dependent on foreign imports and secondary scrap materials for nearly 100 percent of its cobalt consumption. (3) China is the world’s cobalt lynchpin, supplying 72 percent of global refined cobalt. (4) The International Energy Agency forecasts a cobalt supply deficit by 2030, ultimately projecting cobalt demand in 2040 to range from 6 to 30 times higher than today’s levels. (5) Cobalt supply chains often face an untraceable mine-to-refinery chain of custody, risking inadvertent financing of slave and forced child labor. (6) Cobalt refineries generally use the process of hydrometallurgy (e.g., acid leaching) and pyrometallurgy (e.g., smelting), jeopardizing the environment. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States lack of cobalt refining capacity is a serious vulnerability to America’s critical mineral supply chains; (2) the People’s Republic of China’s dominant share of the refined cobalt market and the unprecedented global demand growth for refined cobalt are threats to the national security, economic stability, and competitiveness of key industries in the United States; and (3) the Department of Defense should— (A) make purchases and purchase commitments with new refineries in the United States to encourage them to scale up production; (B) stockpile an increased amount of domestically refined cobalt to decrease the vulnerability of the United States to supply chain interruptions; (C) require cobalt refineries in the United States to present a transparent mine-to-refinery chain of custody to curb accidental financing of slave and forced child labor; and (D) prioritize purchasing cobalt refined through the environmentally neutral process of chemical vapor metallurgy to prevent harm to the air, water, and soil. 4. Statement of policy It shall be the policy of the United States to— (1) support critical mineral refineries in the United States through purchases and purchase commitments; (2) increase the amount of domestically refined critical minerals in the National Defense Stockpile; (3) decrease the dependence of the United States on critical minerals refined in foreign countries, including China; (4) combat slave and forced child labor in critical mineral mining and refining; and (5) protect the environment from harmful industrial practices related to critical mineral refining. 5. Purchase program for domestically refined cobalt (a) In general The President, acting through Secretary of Defense and the Defense Logistics Agency, and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall use the authorities provided under title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to increase the amount of domestically refined cobalt in the National Defense Stockpile by awarding eligible entities with purchases and purchase commitments of cobalt nanopowder and sub-nanopowder refined in the United States through the environmentally neutral process of chemical vapor metallurgy. (b) Amount To carry out subsection (a), the President shall use $800,000,000 during fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2028 from the Defense Production Act Fund. 6. Definitions In this Act: (1) Eligible entity The term eligible entity (A) that is owned by United States persons and operating in the United States; (B) whose primary business activity, or that of its parent company, is refining critical minerals; (C) that refines critical minerals through chemical vapor metallurgy; and (D) that provides the Secretary of Defense with a mine-to-refinery chain of custody, including proof that the cobalt ore is free of slave and forced child labor. (2) Chemical vapor metallurgy The term chemical vapor metallurgy (3) Cobalt nanopowder The term cobalt nanopowder (4) Critical mineral The term critical mineral 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals (5) Domestically refined The term domestically refined (6) Environmentally neutral The term environmentally neutral

Summary: Cobalt Optimizes Batteries And Leading Technologies Act of 2022 or the COBALT Act of 2022 This bill provides funding through the Defense Production Act Fund to increase stocks of domestically refined cobalt in the National Defense Stockpile. (The Defense Production Act of 1950 confers on the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in order to provide essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.)