About Cobalis

Cobalis is an operational bridge between academic research, the metals and metallurgical industry, and European policymakers.

The name

“Cobalis” combines cobalt and lapis lazuli.

Cobalt
One of the most strategic metals of electrification and of lithium-ion batteries.
Lapis lazuli
The stone behind ultramarine, the pigment prized since the Renaissance, and a symbol of the first global mineral supply chains.

Our colours come from the stone: a deep lapis blue, flecked with the golden pyrite that runs through it.

What we work on

The energy transition is intrinsically metallic. That creates a critical vulnerability to strategic metals and minerals. Our work starts from four questions.

  • Europe’s execution deficit

    The EU sets strict decarbonisation targets but outsources its extractive footprint and lacks intermediate refining and chemical separation capacity, the midstream, a segment heavily dominated by China.

  • The regulatory framework

    The Critical Raw Materials Act and Europe’s industrial responses to the US Inflation Reduction Act: what they require, what they fund and where implementation falls short.

  • Supply corridors and producing countries

    EU partnerships with producing regions, including Global Gateway and the Lobito Corridor across the DRC, Zambia and Angola. African perspectives are part of the work, not an afterthought.

  • Technology and circularity

    Solvometallurgy, closed-loop hydrometallurgy and the recovery of value from mining waste, as ways to reconcile industrial sovereignty with environmental acceptability.

This work is organised in Strategic Intelligence Hubs: Midstream and Processing Technologies , Policy and Supply Corridors and Recycling and Circularity (planned for 2027–28) .

Who we write for

  • The next generation of engineers and economists
  • Academic researchers
  • Industry executives
  • Policymakers

Cobalis works business-to-business and business-to-policy. Our publications and events are written for people who make technical, commercial and political decisions about critical metals, and for the researchers and young professionals who will make them next.

The audience is specialised; the team is not. Membership is open at every level of study. See the open roles.

Governance

Independence and transparency

Operational board

A lean team of five to six members responsible for direction, finances and the coordination of the hubs. The board is being formed now; its first members will be listed here.

Naël Bouzi

Founder

I am Naël Bouzi. I live in Brussels, the city where much of Europe’s policy on critical raw materials is made, and I study at KU Leuven.

Two interests led me to Cobalis: the metals that the energy transition depends on, and the politics that decide where they come from. I had long wanted to build an organisation from the ground up, and Cobalis became that project: a place where engineers, economists and future policymakers work on these questions together.

Advisory board

Academic researchers and industry experts who review our publications before release. The advisory board is being formed. Members will be listed here once they have agreed to serve.

Researchers and practitioners interested in reviewing for Cobalis are welcome to get in touch.

References to universities and other institutions on this site describe context only. They do not imply affiliation or endorsement.