China’s electric vehicle battery supply chain dominance enhanced with nickel production innovation

Name: Nio enhances production efficiency amid rising orders for its electric-powered SUVs
Uploaded: 2021-03-11T22:30:17.000Z
Duration: 1 min 21 s
Description: Nio enhances production efficiency amid rising orders for its electric-powered SUVs

Tsingshan Holding Group said last week that it will be able to provide a new flow of nickel matte from its Indonesian operations

Nickel is a key metal needed in the production of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles

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Tsingshan Holding Group’s Australian partner in Indonesia, Nickel Mines, said the success in turning nickel pig iron into nickel matte through the “rotary kiln electric furnace” method was evidence of market leading innovation. Photo: Xinhua

Su-Lin Tan

Published: 6:30am, 12 Mar 2021Updated: 6:30am, 12 Mar 2021

China has continued to show its dominance in the global battery supply chain by sending the nickel market into overdrive after stainless steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group announced it would be able to provide a new flow of nickel matte from its Indonesian operations.

Last week, Tsingshan said it would be able to provide 100,000 tonnes of nickel matte – a material converted from nickel pig iron – to two major Chinese battery makers, Huayou and CNGR, within a year from October, instantly easing market fears of a shortage in nickel amid a boom in demand for electric vehicles.

Nickel prices reversed immediately, falling 8.5 per cent on the day of the announcement – the largest single day drop since December 2016 – putting a halt to the climb in prices which had reached a record six-year high a few weeks earlier.

There has been further buoyancy in the battery market after an executive order from US President Joe Biden two weeks ago for a probe into the diversification of American supply chains of vehicle batteries, semiconductors, rare earth and pharmaceuticals.

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Tsingshan’s Australian partner in Indonesia, Nickel Mines, said the success in turning nickel pig iron into nickel matte through the “rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF)” method was evidence of market leading innovation.

“The potential for RKEFs to produce a nickel matte for use in the rapidly growing battery supply chain has long been spoken about, so it comes as no surprise to us that Tsingshan is now set to establish this as a commercially viable option,” Nickel Mines’ managing director Justin Werner said.

Tsingshan said it has the capability to supply the high-grade nickel matte on a regular basis. The product can be converted into battery-grade nickel sulphate, which is a crucial raw material for the production of nickel-bearing lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

The boom in the industry has led to a sharp demand rally, not just for nickel, but for all metals used in electric vehicle batteries, including lithium and rare earths.