Nickel deployment in passenger EV batteries totaled 59,271 tonnes in 2019, according to Adamas Intelligence, representing an increase of 39% from 2018. BEVs were responsible for 76% of passenger battery nickel use globally in 2019, up from 71% in 2018. The sales-weighted average amount of nickel deployed per EV globally in 2019 was 12.9 kilograms, an increase of 28% from 2018.

China used the most nickel, at 22,297 tonnes (38% of global market share). The United States (22%), Japan (9%), the Netherlands (4%), and Germany (4%) followed.

Although passenger EV sales increased by only 5% in China, the amount of nickel used in China’s passenger EVs increased by 56%. Adamas attributes the increase to China’s growing consumer preference for long-range BEVs with high-capacity batteries and automakers’ shift to battery chemistries containing higher concentrations of nickel.

Source: Adamas Intelligence