London: UK, June 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A couple of years ago, the market for nickel sulphate, however, was largely driven by the plating industry and non-Li-ion battery applications such as NiMH and NiCd batteries with stagnated y-o-y growth. From 2014, owing to the mass production of Li-ion batteries and the popularity of ternary cathode materials (composed of nickel, cobalt, manganese or aluminium) in portable electronics and electric vehicles, the consumption of nickel sulphate has markedly increased as the requirement from Li-ion batteries has grown over twentyfold in the past decade.
Despite the rapid growth in recent years, as of 2019, total nickel sulphate consumed still only represented a trivial part of the total consumption of nickel, which explains why such refined chemical product only appeared on the nickel radar recently. Over the next decade, Roskill forecasts an explosive growth rate for the consumption of nickel in batteries (mostly in the form of nickel sulphate). Such demand growth will not only be supported by the uptake of EVs and their larger energy capacity, but also by the greater use of nickel-rich cathode materials to improve energy density of automotive batteries. As a result, Roskill’s report shows that battery applications may have the potential to be the next largest application of nickel after stainless steel by 2029.
To meet the forecast demand levels, a significant volume of new nickel sulphate units will need to be produced from primary nickel feedstock sources such as intermediates and Class I nickel, as well as from recycling of various residues and scrap materials. While in the past, producers fully integrated from mining to refining played a major role in the market, much of the supply growth in recent years can be attributed to non-integrated processors relying on externally-sourced feedstocks. As such, the future availability and suitability of feedstocks for the battery industry will be essential to the production of nickel sulphate.
In such a fast-moving market volatility is inevitable. The price for nickel sulphate, typically in the form of a premium over the underlining nickel metal price, has become more volatile in recent years as a supply-demand mismatch has become less uncommon given the cyclical nature of major applications such as automotive and portable electronics sectors. Recent policy changes in the EV space compounded with the emerging uncertainty in global macroeconomy under the COVID-19 pandemic may bring more volatility to the nickel sulphate market.
Roskill’s new Nickel Sulphate: Outlook to 2029 report was recently published, addressing opportunities and challenges the nickel sulphate market facing in the next decade. It provides a deep-dive analysis on market fundamentals with a 10-year forecast and quarterly updates keeping pace with industry developments.