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Demand for nickel used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries is growing faster than anticipated and will surge by more than 20pc year on year in 2022, according to Japanese mining and trading group Sumitomo.
Uptake of Class 1 nickel will rise to more than 410,000t in 2022, from 330,000t last year, based on the group's internal forecasts for the metal.
Sumitomo forecasts that the world's nickel supply deficit will roughly halve to 68,000t this year from an estimated 135,000t in 2021, a direct consequence of the growth of nickel pig iron (NPI) production in Indonesia that the group estimates will rise by 1mn t.
Overall global demand for nickel, including high and low grades, is expected to increase by 8.4pc to 2.99mn t in 2022, with global supply rising by 11.4pc to 2.931mn t, according to Sumitomo's data.
The group projects Japan's nickel demand to rise by 0.2pc to 170,400t, with supply forecast to increase by 1.6pc to 168,800t.
With the current outlook being bullish, the main threat to nickel demand in the EV sector is the recent trend of higher nickel prices, according to Sumitomo. The group anticipates that further steep increases to prices are likely to force the sector to develop low-nickel batteries, leading to demand destruction.
A higher price outlook for battery metals is already affecting EV producers, forcing carmakers such as Tesla, BMW and Mercedes to raise prices. (Argusmetal)
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