Herein we report a simple and scalable route to synthesize porous cobalt/cobalt oxide - carbon sphere composites as anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It involves the impregnation of starch-derived hydrochar spheres with a cobalt salt, followed by a heat treatment (700 degrees C) under inert atmosphere. The obtained high surface area (similar to 670 m(2) g(-1)), submicron spheres (similar to 300 nm diameter) with high-degree of microporosity (81%) consist of an amorphous carbon matrix with embedded Co/CoO nanoparticles (similar to 6 nm sized), having a total cobalt content of 6.2 wt%. The hybrid sphere anodes demonstrated superior specific capacity, rate performance and cycling stability. Discharge capacities of 520 and 310 mA h g(-1) are observed at charge-discharge rates of 0.1 and 1C respectively. No significant capacity fading is identified on prolonged cycling at various current densities. The electrode also demonstrated excellent structural stability during extended charge-discharge processes. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.