Newer EV batteries use LiFePO4 cells and have no cobalt at all in them and lithium isn't as rare as people like to make it out to be. The Salton Sea alone could produce 50% more lithium than the entire world's current production by itself- and there is plenty more in regular seawater too.

Besides- you are assuming that we will continue using lithium batteries and that's silly. Battery research continues to advance at an astonishing pace- and other chemistries are being tested all the time. If lithium isn't an option- we'll find something else.

Hydrogen, however, will always be a lot less efficient. Producing it, compressing it, transporting it, and then using it in a fuel cell results in a total energy efficiency of less than half what we get with a modern BEV.