[ad_1]
Panasonic suspended its relationship with a Canadian supplier on the grounds that there is no way of knowing how much of cobalt it uses in batteries that it manufactures for Tesla, is from Cuba a country subject to US economic sanctions
The Japanese electronics giant – which is the exclusive supplier of batteries to Tesla – reacted in this way after Questions from Reuters on the question of whether batteries contain Cuban cobalt
The agency notes that two sources close to the record claim that part of the cobalt used by Panasonic to manufacture the Tesla batteries is extracted by ] the Canadian firm Sherritt International Cuban mines
Finally, a spokeswoman for Panasonic announced that in case of doubt, they decided to "suspend the ur relationship with their provider ". Canadian ", and added that Panasonic used cobalt from the Canadian company for the batteries used in the Model S and Model X Tesla, but only since February 2018.
] The company spokesman also said that Panasonic had sought advice from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department (FOCA) "on its interpretation of the scope of the". US prohibition of "
Panasonic's doubt as to whether the cells would have Cuban cobalt or do not respond to the" mixing of their suppliers' sources in various phases of manufacturing processes ".
However, the giant "Tesla is also looking to approach a zero use of cobalt in the near future."
The Canadian company Sherritt International, for its part, did not want to comment on whether it was selling Cuban Obalto to Panasonic
The spokesman for the Canadian company, for its part, said that did not respond "to questions about specific customer activities."
He added: "We are 25 years old We work in Cuba and we sell our grade 1 nickel and cobalt, refined in our facilities in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, to customers in Europe and Asia. "
Source link
