Supply of nickel intermediate MHP from Indonesia for batteries is set to rise five-fold this year, according to Benchmark Minerals’ Nickel Forecast. That’s expected to alleviate the rising demand for nickel in electric vehicle batteries.
Demand for more powerful nickel-containing batteries is set to grow by 42% this year, according to Benchmark, as sales of electric vehicles accelerate.
This week the first shipment of more than 9,500 tonnes of nickel and cobalt hydroxide (MHP) products left Indonesia’s Morowali Port for the port of Ningbo on the HH Diamond container ship, producer Huayou Cobalt said.
The laterite nickel hydrometallurgy project of PT. Huayue Nickel Cobalt is a significant strategic project to build an integrated industrial chain of new-energy lithium battery materials. Huayou says the Indonesian project is of great significance to ensure the future supply of nickel and cobalt resources and build a competitive nickel raw material manufacturing base for new energy power batteries.
The shipment from the Huayue project in Indonesia marks the start of what is expected to be a rapid increase in supply of nickel for batteries from the country this year, Benchmark observed.
