The demand for critical metals is increasing. Battery metals are increasingly needed.
Last year, the nickel market was exposed to price pressure. According to the International Nickel Study Group, the nickel surplus this year will be around 198,000 tons. Nickel production is expected to increase to an estimated 3.65 million tons this year. Nickel demand is expected to amount to around 3.51 million tons. The nickel market is dominated by Asia, where production is set to increase in China and Indonesia in particular. According to Macquarie, Indonesia could control up to 74 percent of the global nickel supply by 2028, compared to around 61 percent for refined nickel at present. Indonesia is now planning to reduce export quotas in order to support the nickel price. Nickel mining quotas are also to be cut. This could boost the nickel price. It is still unclear whether the Indonesian government will relent and postpone the levy increase.

Production of 272 million tons of nickel in 2024 could fall to 150 million tons in 2025. The electric car industry in particular needs nickel for battery production, especially for batteries with a high energy density. According to an analysis by Benchmark, the nickel market is expected to have a deficit of just under 840,000 tons by 2034. The electromobility market is growing rapidly and huge investments would be needed to avoid supply bottlenecks. And the development of new mines takes five to 25 years. There are therefore voices that consider the supply chain for electric cars to be at risk. After all, more and more countries want environmentally friendly technologies. Indonesia has now increased mining levies for nickel producers (among others), which is unlikely to please them. A tonne of nickel currently costs around 15,400 US dollars, although prices have already been significantly higher, but this could change again.

One company that focuses on nickel is Green Bridge Metals - https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/green-bridge-metals-corp/ . The Chrome Puddy project in Canada focuses on environmentally friendly mining practices.
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