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Battery metals

Nickel (Ni)

Stainless steel, battery cathodes (NMC, NCA), superalloys.

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Atomic number
28
Period · group
4 · 10
Block
d-block

Why it is critical

Battery-grade supply growth is concentrated in a few producing countries.

Who trades nickel

$51 bn of nickel products crossed borders in 2024: intermediates $30 bn · refined metal $13 bn · ores and concentrates $5.0 bn · chemicals $1.7 bn · scrap $1.3 bn.

Largest exporters

  1. 1Indonesia$23 bn45%
  2. 2Canada$3.2 bn6%
  3. 3Philippines$2.4 bn5%
  4. 4Russia$2.3 bn5%
  5. 5Norway$2.2 bn4%
  6. 6Finland$2.0 bn4%
  7. 7Australia$2.0 bn4%
  8. 8China$1.4 bn3%

Largest importers

  1. 1China$27 bn53%
  2. 2Japan$3.2 bn6%
  3. 3Netherlands$2.4 bn5%
  4. 4United States of America$2.0 bn4%
  5. 5Norway$1.8 bn3%
  6. 6South Korea$1.3 bn2%
  7. 7Taiwan$1.2 bn2%
  8. 8Finland$1.1 bn2%

Trade values in current US dollars (ores, concentrates, intermediates, chemicals and refined metal), not prices. Source: CEPII BACI (HS22), Etalab Open Licence 2.0 — details.