Electric vehicles (EVs) are riding an unprecedented wave of popularity in the wake of the global oil crisis sparked by conflict in the Middle East.
In Australia, sales increased by more than 150% year-on-year in April, while in Asia Pacific, sales increased by 80% in the first three months of 2026 (excluding China, where strong sales growth has plateaued). About 75% more EVs were sold in Latin America, and almost a third more in Europe, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA Director-General Fatih Birol said in May that record EV sales “bring some relief amidst the biggest oil supply shock in history” and that falling battery prices would provide further momentum to the industry.
Still, the battery is by far the most expensive component and remains a big part of an electric car’s armor. EV critics have long argued that electric car batteries, which are made primarily of lithium-ion, can catch fire and are harder to put out than those in gasoline-powered cars. However, this claim ignores the fact that internal combustion engines are prone to fires.
Large and heavy EV batteries are also being targeted as a potential source of increased road damage. But experts counter that large trunks are by far the biggest culprit when it comes to highway wear and tear.
call cobalt
EV batteries, which once contained critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel, have also raised concerns about exploitative supply chains, particularly cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In Australia, spotlight A prime-time TV news program aired in March investigated a Chinese-owned cobalt mine in Congo. It revealed that they are places where thousands of people, including many children, work in terrible conditions amid heavy pollution.
The program cited cobalt as “a key element in nearly every battery on the planet, from electric vehicles to homes,” and said promoting a “clean, green future” of renewable energy and electric vehicles would come at “critical and devastating costs.”
But critics say the report leaves out important points. That means EV battery chemistry has largely switched to lithium iron phosphate technology, which doesn’t require cobalt.
Congo: a country of wealth plagued by large-scale exploitation
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David McElrea, chief executive of the Australian Smart Energy Council, which advocates for renewable energy, questioned why EV batteries and other renewable technologies were mentioned in the article when “many other products we use contain cobalt”, such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
Acknowledging “legitimate concerns” about developments in expanding the critical minerals supply chain for renewable energy technologies, McElrea supports investment in domestically produced critical minerals and manufacturing of batteries and solar panels. This will improve supply chain transparency and strengthen energy independence, he said.
Green energy advocates said the EV industry supports innovations that address supply chain concerns and remove cobalt from most modern electric vehicle batteries.
EVs can be charged by sunlight, but are their batteries really clean? Image: Daniel Reinhardt/IMAGO
“Electric car manufacturers are moving away from cobalt because it’s expensive, toxic and ethically questionable,” said Neeraj Sharma, a chemistry professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. He said cheaper chemicals based on salt (sodium ion) batteries, for example, are also coming to market.
Control the story of important minerals
Experts have described a “narrative war” over key minerals. Canada’s conservative, pro-fossil fuel think tank, the Fraser Institute, has released a report that argues that around 400 critical mineral mines will be needed to meet demand for electric vehicles in 2023.
The report’s author, Kenneth P. Green, who has long advocated for investment in “cheaper” fossil fuels away from renewable energy, said: “There is a significant risk that mineral and mining production will fall short of projected (EV) demand.”
However, the IEA states in its 2026 Global EV Outlook that geological reserves of critical minerals are currently sufficient to meet long-term EV demand, even in a scenario where most fossil fuel-powered vehicles are phased out. However, the concentration of battery production in China poses supply chain risks.
Rare earths recycled in Germany to reduce dependence on China
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The Energy Agency said the “momentum” of lithium-free sodium-ion batteries would also reduce demand for critical minerals. The IEA calls for rapid expansion of battery mineral recycling as a way to strengthen supply chain transparency and resilience.
“Hit job” or justifiable criticism?
But how should myths about the EV supply chain be balanced against real concerns about harmful extraction?
Mr McElrea said such media misinformation about EVs was a “hit and miss” by fossil-friendly media, but Vlad Vivoda, a critical minerals and energy security expert at the University of Queensland in Australia, said not all criticism was “coordinated or maliciously delivered”.
“Many concerns about mineral extraction, processing, working conditions, land impacts, waste and supply chain concentration are real,” he told DW.
That’s why the pro-transition narrative of “pure” clean energy can be easily criticized, he said.
Philip Newell, communications co-chair of the global coalition Climate Action Against Disinformation, told DW that any real concern about the “injustice of mining” needs to start with “empowering local communities harmed by mining.” This could be through profit sharing or through “strengthening and better enforcement of environmental and labor laws around the world.”
Energy crisis fuels misinformation
As the energy crisis continues, backlash against EV and battery technology is likely to increase.
“Recent attempts to outlaw clean technologies need to be understood in part in the context of the broader energy crisis, oil price fluctuations, and new concerns about energy security,” Vivoda said.
Nevertheless, he said the suggestion that clean technologies are “just as bad, or perhaps even worse, than fossil fuel systems” will ultimately create “inertia” around the energy transition.
He added that the transition to low-carbon energy needs to provide the kind of supply chain transparency that has often been lacking in the fossil energy sector.
“The appropriate response is not to glorify ‘clean’ technology, but to honestly compare systems and manage the new supply chain much better than the old one,” he said.
Editor: Tamsin Walker
Is on-the-go charging the future of EVs?
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