Russia's Nornickel expects raw nickel demand to rise to 3.35m tonnes in 2023, compared with supply of 3.47m tonnes, on the back of a recovery in stainless steel production and strong growth in the battery sector.
Russo expects global policies to support the electric vehicle industry to continue to support nickel's strong growth in the battery market.
The company estimates that global battery manufacturing capacity will more than quadruple from 2022 to at least 4.5 terawatt hours by 2030, requiring more than 1 million tonnes of nickel during that period, or 30 percent of total nickel demand.
High-nickel chemicals will continue to gain the largest share of the market because of their higher energy density and better recyclability, the company said.
