NICKEL COMMUNIQUÉ: From the ‘Devil’s Metal’ to the ‘Holy Grail’ of Clean Transport
Nickel is rapidly emerging as a ‘critical’ metal for the shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage.
Nickel is rapidly emerging as a ‘critical’ metal for the shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage.
Copper, according to Goldman Sachs, ‘is the new oil’ deemed most important for decarbonisation. Demand for the metal, used in large quantities in wind, solar, electric vehicles and energy infrastructure, is set to increase by 600% by 2030. Wealthy nations and companies associated with copper related products are by proportion the highest consumers of the metal, and so are generating most of the demand.
Australia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of lithium, supplying 54.4 percent of the total market in 2019. 95% of Australia’s ore based raw material is exported to China – already contributing to the ‘clean tech’ battery transition.