On Tuesday, KoBold Metals, a mining exploration startup based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, announced a partnership with Stanford University to develop technology aimed at improving the efficiency of mineral mining. The collaboration hopes to help meet the growing demand for metals such as copper, nickel, and cobalt that are necessary for the production of electric vehicle batteries.
“Battery metals are to the renewable energy and electric vehicle revolutions what iron was to the Iron Age and what coal was to the Industrial Revolution,” said Kurt House, co-founder and CEO of KoBold Metals.