Cobalt sulfate is an inorganic, divalent cobalt salt of sulfuric acid, represented by the chemical formula, CoSO4. It is an odorless reddish metallic salt, which is readily soluble in water and methanol. Cobalt oxide or other cobalt derivatives are dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid, which crystallizes to form cobalt sulfate. In addition, large amount of cobalt sulfate is produced as a by-product during the manufacturing of various metals, such as nickel and copper. The global cobalt sulphate market is segmented based on application and region. Based on application, it is bifurcated into super alloy, hard facing/HSS & other alloy, magnet, hard material, catalyst, color, and battery, and others. Super alloys are high-performance alloys, used in situations that require exceptional properties, such as high mechanical strength, resistance to high temperatures, corrosion, and other stress situations. Besides the batteries segment, a major share of the cobalt sulphate industry has accounted by the super alloys segment due to their applications in aircraft manufacturing.
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Hard facing is a process of applying a tougher material to the base metal to enhance their resistance to heat, wear & tear, and corrosion. HSS or High Speed Steel refers to steel containing refractory carbides in larger amounts for enhanced properties, such as high temperature strength, hardness, wear resistance to tempering, and several others. Cobalt sulphate is used in HSS as it significantly enhances the temperature strength of the material. The consumption and demand for cobalt sulphate for HSS and hard facing are highest during the forecast period due to the high temperature strength of cobalt containing HSS and materials over others.

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The most common use of cobalt sulphate is in batteries. Cobalt sulphate is widely used a precursor for battery cathodes in storage batteries, employed in electric vehicles (EV). Cobalt is one of the major element used for manufacturing Lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries. Employing cobalt as the cathode of rechargeable batteries efficiently improves their energy density, power, and performance as compared to batteries that lacks cobalt. The cobalt industry is expected to be driven by the investments by market players and demand for cobalt containing Li-ion batteries for EVs. For instance, an investment of USD 5 billion by Tesla in its Li-ion giga factory in Nevada, USD1.06 billion investment by Porsche for EV production, investment of $1 billion by Faraday Future for the development of EVs, and several others.