Chronickels

Nickel news, views, commentary and insights

MARCH 14 - 2024

What does the outcome of China’s “Two Sessions 2024” mean for the nickel value chain?

China’s annual “two sessions” gives an indication of China’s broad policy direction for the year, covering topics from the economy to industrial strategy to environmental protection. David Chen explains the highlights, and the implications for the nickel value chain.

CHINA REGULATION
JANUARY 31 - 2024

Why should policy makers care about nickel?

As much of the world heads to the polls this year, Veronique Steukers explains why newly elected lawmakers should care about nickel and why they should consider three policy asks.

SUSTAINABILITY EU POLICY REGULATION
JANUARY 24 - 2024

Charging ahead: navigating the transforming landscape of the EV Market in the US

With global EV sales approaching 14 million cars in 2023 with a year-on-year growth rate of 35% it is clear that EVs are gaining acceptance rapidly.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES REGULATION
OCTOBER 06 - 2023

How to critically assess nickel carbon footprint data

Eight tips on what to consider when assessing nickel carbon footprint data.

SUSTAINABILITY REGULATION
SEPTEMBER 08 - 2023

Ferronickel and NPI importers to the EU: get ready for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and its data collection and submission requirements

After several years of negotiation between EU institutions, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Regulation was adopted in 2023.

STAINLESS STEEL NICKEL ALLOYS EU POLICY REGULATION
AUGUST 08 - 2023

The EU Battery regulation: what does it mean for nickel producers?

The new EU Battery regulation has implications for nickel producers both inside and outside Europe. If they are supplying material to the EU battery chain destined for the European market all producers need to comply with the new rules.

BATTERIES EU POLICY SUPPLY CHAIN ELECTRIC VEHICLES REGULATION
JUNE 06 - 2023

How food standards save lives

World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2023 draws attention to food standards. Foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year, and food standards help us to ensure what we eat is safe.

STAINLESS STEEL HEALTH FOOD SAFETY
MARCH 22 - 2023

How can the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act reach its full potential?

Mark Mistry and Marco Vallini argue that for the EU Critical Raw Materials Act to fulfil its promise to address the energy transition, industry needs planning security for both ‘critical’ and ‘strategic’ raw materials.

SUSTAINABILITY EU POLICY REGULATION
NOVEMBER 30 - 2022

Product passport legislation and the growing role of secondary legislation

The European Commission published its proposed EU battery regulation in December 2020. After almost two years of discussion, the EU institutions are now in the final stages of negotiating the details. It could be adopted in December 2022, with entry into force to follow in 2023.

BATTERIES EU POLICY REGULATION
SEPTEMBER 28 - 2022

Weathering steel’s moment in the sun

Solar farms are blooming in fields across the globe and producing a new crop: solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) systems made up of solar panels, are fast becoming the most recognisable of renewable energy technologies.

NICKEL STEEL SUSTAINABILITY RENEWABLE ENERGY
SEPTEMBER 06 - 2022

300 series austenitic alloys – Checking all the boxes

Materials selection for any piece of equipment or a process system is rarely a simple task, unless you are exactly replicating something successful. Often engineers will have a checklist to help them narrow down the choices, eliminating groups of materials that are not suitable for various reasons. Austenitic 300 series stainless steels containing 7-35% nickel will have most if not all of the boxes checked for being suitable where a stainless steel is desired.

STAINLESS STEEL NICKEL ALLOYS TOOL STEEL NICKEL STEEL TECHNICAL HELP
JULY 28 - 2022

Building codes - Setting high standards for structural stainless steel

The sudden failure of a building or bridge is mercifully a rare event, thanks largely to international or national standards: structures are designed in accordance with a design standard, using products conforming to a product standard and manufactured using techniques and to a quality level defined in a construction standard.

ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION REGULATION
JULY 06 - 2022

Will the EU’s Sustainable Products Initiative get the balance right?

What is a “sustainable product”? Is it more sustainable to continue using my old washing machine or to buy a new, more energy efficient one? Are single use products always unsustainable? What criteria should I use to judge whether a product is sustainable or not? What measures can we take to promote sustainability in products?

SUSTAINABILITY EU POLICY RECYCLING REGULATION
JUNE 10 - 2022

300 series vs. ferritic stainless steel – Which one should I choose?

Each family of stainless steels has its strengths and weaknesses. Ferritic stainless steels have useful properties – a lower rate of thermal expansion, higher thermal conductivity, strong ferromagnetism and very high resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking (SCC). When looking at selecting any alloys, it is important to consider all the factors for successful usage.

NICKEL ALLOYS STAINLESS STEEL NICKEL STEEL
JUNE 01 - 2022

The new San Giorgio bridge: stronger and more durable

Awareness about robustness and durability of bridge design has grown since Morandi’s time. The new San Giorgio Bridge (its successor) in Genoa was designed by Renzo Piano and inaugurated in 2020.

NICKEL MAGAZINE NICKEL STEEL STAINLESS STEEL ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
MAY 17 - 2022

300 series vs. duplex stainless steel – Which one should I choose?

The duplex alloys are “problem-solving alloys” for good reason, they have been successfully used in many places where carbon steels and standard austenitic alloys have failed. Just like with the austenitic family, there are many different duplex alloys to choose from, with corrosion resistance varying from moderate with the lean duplex alloys to very high with the superduplex alloys.

NICKEL ALLOYS STAINLESS STEEL NICKEL STEEL
MAY 04 - 2022

How to calculate GHG emissions from nickel production

The Nickel Institute has published specific guidance for nickel producers to help them calculate their greenhouse gas emissions. This guidance takes into account the complexity of nickel production and will contribute to scientifically robust and reliable data that is comparable throughout the entire industry. The author of the Guidelines, Dr. Mark Mistry explains.

SUSTAINABILITY REGULATION
APRIL 28 - 2022

World Day for Safety and Health at Work - 2022

Steven Verpaele, the Nickel Institute’s Industrial Hygienist explains how a new workplace exposure collection tool and database system will help prevent occupational diseases and contribute to creating a health and safety culture at the workplace.

HEALTH RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
APRIL 06 - 2022

300 vs 200 series stainless steels - Which alternative suits?

The selection of an alloy should be guided by careful examination of the needs of the application. Before making a switch, it’s important to fully investigate an alloy’s strengths, weaknesses and applicability to your structure.

NICKEL ALLOYS NICKEL STEEL STAINLESS STEEL
MARCH 10 - 2022

Will the EU’s proposed battery regulation drive the global ESG agenda for battery raw materials?

Batteries, notably those used in electric vehicles, play an essential role in the plans of the European Commission to deliver the EU Green Deal. They are considered as a critical and strategic technology to achieve Europe´s ambitious climate change mitigation targets and to move towards green and sustainable mobility.

SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES EU POLICY SUPPLY CHAIN REGULATION
FEBRUARY 03 - 2022

EU Batteries Regulation: Where do we stand?

The proposed Regulation will introduce a wide range of sustainability requirements and promote the recycling of key battery raw materials like nickel. EU legislative work is entering a crucial phase.

REGULATION BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES EU POLICY
JANUARY 27 - 2022

Mining electronics waste

Think of the largest cruise ship. Then imagine how much it weighs – just over 100,000 tonnes, in fact. Now think about 500 of those ships, and what they weigh. That is the staggering amount of new electronic waste that we generate every year.

SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES RESOURCES AND RESERVES RECYCLING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT RAW MATERIALS
DECEMBER 17 - 2021

A decade of REACH - Five things we’ve learned about managing REACH dossier updates

More than ten years on from the implementation of the EU’s REACH regulation, NiPERA’s Tara Lyons-Darden looks back and shares some of the learnings and the challenges of maintaining REACH dossiers from the perspective of the Nickel REACH Consortia.

EU POLICY REGULATION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
NOVEMBER 16 - 2021

Stainless steel: a lifetime of savings

While it may require an initial higher investment when compared with other materials, stainless steel’s unique properties deliver long-term performance and economic benefits including minimum downtime, reduced maintenance costs and reduced environmental impacts.

LIFE CYCLE COSTING STAINLESS STEEL ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SUSTAINABILITY RECYCLING
APRIL 28 - 2021

World Day for Safety and Health at Work - 2021

Steven Verpaele, the Nickel Institute’s Industrial Hygienist explains the different ways that the work he leads is helping to contributing to the culture of occupational safety and health that respects the right to a safe and healthy working environment at all levels.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS HEALTH
JANUARY 26 - 2021

A wealth of knowledge

A new generation of designers, materials specifiers, architects and engineers is being introduced to the wealth of technical information curated by the Nickel Institute. An archive of technical guides and know-how for working with nickel-containing materials, including stainless steel, that has been built over thirty years is now being updated and made freely available.

NICKEL ALLOYS NICKEL STEEL STAINLESS STEEL TECHNICAL HELP ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
NOVEMBER 24 - 2020

Customising the future – The next industrial revolution

If you’re like me and predictive text has led to some awkward if not amusing moments, you might be sceptical about Artificial Intelligence (AI). But its achievements are already overwhelming and changing, even protecting, our lives in many sectors.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE NICKEL ALLOYS STAINLESS STEEL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
SEPTEMBER 23 - 2020

Does Artificial Intelligence promote the use of nickel?

New advances in the use of Artificial Intelligence have the potential to speed up the process of alloy development.

NICKEL ALLOYS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
JUNE 29 - 2020

'Use once and destroy'

When Courtney Love wrote this she was not thinking about rockets. It is, however, a perfect description of the history of rocketry. Until the Elon Musk revolution.

SPACE ROCKETS SPACEX NICKEL ALLOYS
JUNE 05 - 2020

China's regulatory agenda for energy: current developments leading to future opportunities for nickel

New energy legislation is set to optimize China’s energy structure and boost the use of non-fossil energy. Aligning with China’s regulatory agenda, nickel will play a vital role in tomorrow’s world powered by cleaner energy.

CHINA REGULATION RENEWABLE ENERGY
MAY 26 - 2020

Back in the Game

Space is hard but nickel makes it possible. The United States of America, through the private company SpaceX, imminently expects to regain its independent way into space.

NICKEL ALLOYS STAINLESS STEEL SPACE ROCKETS SPACEX
MAY 06 - 2020

Food safety: why stainless steel is a vital ingredient

Food safety starts with rigorous hygiene, and nickel-containing stainless steels are the superior, reliable standard at every link of the food chain.

STAINLESS STEEL SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOOD SAFETY HEALTH
JANUARY 31 - 2020

Strong, hard and tough: the many ways nickel-containing alloy steels deliver

Most nickel production is destined for stainless steel. But a significant 8% is used in the production of alloy steels which are needed to deliver specific characteristics for specialised and often critical applications.

NICKEL ALLOYS MARAGING STEEL TOOL STEEL NICKEL STEEL TECHNICAL HELP
JANUARY 06 - 2020

Is there enough nickel? Reserves, resources and recycling

Should we be worried about there being enough nickel to supply the transition to electric vehicles and cleaner energy sources? Given its wide range of uses in important existing and emerging technologies, this is a frequently asked question.

SUSTAINABILITY RAW MATERIALS RESOURCES AND RESERVES SUPPLY CHAIN RECYCLING