If You Hate Cobalt Mining, You’ll Hate How Gasoline and Diesel Are Made Even More

The anti-EV crowd often points to cobalt mining in the Congo as a reason to reject electric cars, but the uncomfortable truth is that gasoline and diesel engines rely on cobalt too. Modern lithium-ion batteries use cobalt for their cathodes, and while that’s well-documented, the fuel powering internal combustion engines (ICE) also depends on cobalt in a critical refining step. Gasoline and diesel are processed using a cobalt-based catalyst during the desulfurization of octane—a process that strips sulfur compounds from fuel to prevent harmful emissions.

According to a 2017 study, at least 5% of global cobalt mining is used for this catalytic process, and while some of that cobalt is recycled, the industry still relies heavily on freshly mined material. The scale of cobalt use in fuel refining becomes staggering when you consider real-world driving. Over 15,000 miles at 25 MPG, a driver consumes roughly 600 gallons of gasoline or diesel—each gallon refined with cobalt that may have been extracted by child laborers.

Estimates suggest around 40,000 children work in cobalt mines in the Congo, where labor conditions are notoriously exploitative. The irony is stark: while EV batteries are frequently criticized for their cobalt content, the fuel powering ICE vehicles is also tainted by the same supply chain. The oil and gas industry does have a cobalt-free alternative—nickel-molybdenum catalysts—but adoption remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the EV sector is rapidly moving toward cobalt-free battery chemistries like sodium-ion, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate, which could eliminate cobalt from new batteries entirely. Recycling cobalt from old EV batteries is also becoming more feasible, reducing the need for freshly mined material. Still, neither ICE vehicles nor EVs can claim a clean cobalt supply chain as long as child labor persists in mining operations.

Ending child labor would require international cooperation, a challenge that transcends political divides. While the debate over EVs vs. ICE often focuses on emissions or efficiency, the shared reliance on cobalt—and the human cost behind its extraction—underscores a far bigger issue: the need to eliminate child labor from global supply chains, regardless of the industry.