THE nickel industry in the country has remained compelling, driven by growing demand because of its wide range of applications toward smart cities and clean energy, the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) said on Tuesday.
Besides being a critical component in EV (electric vehicle) 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, the industry said in a statement.
PNIA President Dante Bravo said the current value of investments in the global EV industry alone is at $300 billion and it 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 EVs, solar panels, power grid systems, wind turbines, and new technologies such as hydrogen-based energy,” he said.
Moreover, Bravo said the demand for nickel will continue to be influenced by China, just as it did for the past decade.
“The reopening of the global economy this year, as well as the rollout of China’s infrastructure investment plan, would resume activity in the construction sector, triggering momentum in the demand for stainless steel,” he said.
Globally, the Philippines and Indonesia are known to have substantial reserves to meet global nickel demand.
“However, the Philippines needs to attract investments that will enable the exploration, processing, and further development of the country’s nickel reserves,” Bravo said.
“Currently, we only have 34 nickel mines and production is typically influenced by global nickel supply and price. Production in 2022 is at 29.2 million dry metric tons. Meanwhile, Q1 2023 production is at 3.9 million dry metric tons,” he added.
“We can expect significant growth in production if we start to attract investments in mining exploration and there is a clear viable track towards value added processing,” the PNIA chief said.
The country only has two successfully operating nickel processing plants. Investments are needed to conduct further exploration and feasibility research to determine nickel reserves, as each processing plant needs at least 100 million tons of raw nickel ore to be considered viable.
“The industry needs a lot of support from the government, be more open to exploration, and make it easy for foreign investors to come in. We need to map out what we have and what we don’t have,” Bravo said.
“Currently, we have the capability to mine nickel, but there is a whole value chain in value-added processing leading to the manufacturing of battery that needs to be enabled guided by the right government policies and programs,” he said.