Local nickel miners are betting on the global transition towards clean energy and smart cities to boost nickel demand over the medium to long term.
The Philippine Nickel Industry Association, the country’s largest private sector grouping of nickel mining players, said in a statement that aside from being a critical component in electric vehicles batteries, raw nickel ore is also processed to create stainless steel which is used in the development of mega cities and in renewable energy technology.
PNIA president Dante Bravo estimates the current value of investments in the global EV industry at $300 billion which is expected to grow to $1 trillion as EV sales double within the next five years.
“Clean energy and smart cities cannot be realized without nickel as nickel has cross-cutting use in the development and manufacturing of various clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels, power grid systems, wind turbines, and new technologies such as hydrogen-based energy,” Bravo said.
Bravo said the reopening of the global economy and the rollout of China’s infrastructure investment plan would resume activity in the construction sector triggering momentum in the demand for stainless steel.