Raw material for batteries Is nickel still in short supply?

Status: 15.06.2021 3:55 p.m.

First a lack of chips, then a lack of wood, soon a lack of nickel? E-mobility also devours resources. Due to the increasing demand for batteries, the demand for nickel is likely to increase strongly. The sufficient supply of the metal nickel could become critical in the next few years. The German Raw Materials Agency (DERA) warns of this in a current analysis. The background to this is the increasing demand generated by the turnaround towards electromobility. “We assume that, depending on the scenario, global nickel demand will increase from around 2.4 million tons today to around 3.4 million tons in 2025,” explains Dr. Michael Szurlies, nickel expert at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). “Overall, the nickel market is facing a turning point in terms of demand in the coming years, which will lead to a significant shift in market shares within the areas of application.” As a special department of the BGR, DERA advises the federal government, business and NGOs on raw material issues, for example on security of supply and the ecological consequences.

02/18/2021

Nickel is used for batteries

So far, nickel has mainly been used in steel production: around 85 percent is currently used in the manufacture of stainless steel and alloys, as DERA writes. The use in batteries currently accounts for around five percent. That will change in the near future. Because nickel is now a “key raw material” for the transport and energy transition, according to the study. Due to the strong demand generated by the global expansion of electromobility, the experts expect that by 2025, depending on the scenario, the share could be up to 21 percent. This would make batteries the second largest area of ​​application.

07.03.2021

Most of the nickel comes from Indonesia

Indonesia is the world’s largest supplier of nickel. The experts write that the vast majority of the new global production and refining capacities for the metal are expected there by 2025. This leads to a significant increase in the market concentration for nickel – and also has the consequence that the power of the main suppliers increases. Whether prices can also be expected to rise in the future due to rising demand depends on whether supply also increases. It is not excluded. In order to reduce the dependency on international suppliers, consideration is being given to extracting important raw materials – including nickel – in Europe. Experts emphasize that a European supply chain could make economic sense. In January, Peter Buchholz, head of DERA, said it would be good if Europe also built up its own capacities. The projects just have to be cost-competitive.

background 10/27/2010

Recycling is becoming more important

The automotive industry in particular, but also machine builders with a focus on solar or wind power, steel manufacturers or the IT and medical technology industries are dependent on a continuous supply of basic materials such as nickel. This also applies to so-called rare earths – elements such as cobalt or lithium, which is usually the central raw material for batteries in pure electric drives. The authors of the study also have the issue of sustainability in mind: “In view of the goal of reducing emissions of climate-damaging carbon dioxide through electromobility, in future, apart from questions of availability, the most environmentally friendly and sustainable extraction and processing of nickel will be more important.” One has to ask how more nickel and nickel compounds can be recovered at the end of the life cycle of the products and how less environmentally harmful and at the same time more socially fair promotion can be achieved. On the one hand, there are technological developments towards greater efficiency and fewer emissions. On the other hand, the increasing mining in tropical regions is a problem due to the large amount of land required.

Harley-Davidson is getting a new image: For around a year, the German manager Jochen Seitz has been working on the new look for the cult brand’s high-priced, high-margin motorcycles. From Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin all over the world Zeitz wants to sell the heavy machines for freedom-loving bikers. Zeitz, once celebrated as the youngest CEO of a German listed company at Puma at the age of 30, had given the dusty sporting goods manufacturer a new image in record time after taking office. Business success made Puma a global provider of lifestyle products and quickly returned to the black. The share price rose meteoric after Zeitz took office in 1993.

Sustainability as a focus

At the later parent company of Puma, the French luxury goods group Kering, Zeitz, as “Chief Sustainability Manager”, trimmed the company more towards sustainability. Zeitz, who runs a farm with a luxury hotel in Kenya, had already set up a foundation that deals with environmental protection, fair trade and the dialogue between cultures. Zeitz had actually only temporarily occupied the executive chair at Harley-Davidson last spring. In May 2020, in the midst of the beginning pandemic, he then took over the post of CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company for an unlimited period. Zeitz is the first non-American to hold a top post in the company’s 118-year history.

Republicans instead of millennials

Zeitz is facing a completely new challenge at the motorcycle manufacturer: On the one hand, its typical clientele is getting on in the truest sense of the word. According to a study by the major Swiss bank UBS, the company’s usual customers are over 50 years old, predominantly male and, at least in the USA, politically part of the Republican camp. The important group of buyers, the “millennials”, is currently not very interested in the heavy machinery. After taking office, Zeitz quickly prescribed a five-year program for the company, which aims to correct the classic direction of Harley-Davidson without scaring off regular customers – which is typical for the manager.

Hard conversion with “hardwire”

The “Hardwire” baptized program is intended to redefine motorcycling in terms of its image. Zeitz wants to put the experience of nature in the foreground when driving the heavy Harleys. He wants to move the high-margin bestsellers into the foreground of sales. But also savings in the company are part of Zeitz’s conversion program. Since taking office, he has cut costs massively and laid off around 14 percent of the workforce. The LiveWire e-motorcycle is also intended to address a wealthy customer group who attach greater importance to sustainability. However, she also has to accept prices starting at $ 30,000. This, together with the still short range of the e-bolide of 120 to 150 kilometers, make the product appear more like a statement than a sales driver.

Touring bikes boost profits

But Jochen Zeitz managed to turn the throttle at Harley-Davidson in the direction of growth and profitability; this is shown by the current business figures that the company presented on Monday. The concentration on high-margin touring two-wheelers, together with the cost savings, resulted in a ten percent jump in sales to around 1.4 billion dollars in the first quarter. Profits even climbed from $ 70 million to $ 259 million. And for the current financial year, the company expects an increase in sales of 30 to 35 percent, the forecast has thus been revised upwards significantly. But the new boss will not lack challenges in the coming months, even outside of the actual business. On Monday Zeitz announced that it would take legal action against higher EU tariffs. As of June, import duties on his company’s motorcycles would rise from 31 percent to 56 percent. “This is an unprecedented situation and underscores the very real damage of an escalating trade war,” Zeitz said.