By Kwasi Ampofo, BloombergNEF
Five percent of demand for the very pure so-called class-1 nickel comes from batteries, but BloombergNEF forecasts this will increase to over 40 percent by 2025. Some class-1 demand from the stainless-steel industry can be switched to less pure class-2 as new ferronickel production comes on-line. This potential switch helps to alleviate short-term supply constraints. However, even with this flexibility, class-1 nickel supply is likely to run into a deficit by 2024.
Supply is currently dominated by the top ten players, including Vale SA, Jinchuan Group Co., Glencore Plc, BHP Group, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Anglo American Plc, MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC and Eramet. Their combined supply in 2018 totaled over 900,000 metric tons of class-1 nickel, with potential to expand supply by an additional 150,000 tons by 2025.
Class 1 nickel supply and demand forecast
