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
DECEMBER 06 - 2023

Battery Chat with Parri #5: Dr. Stanley Whittingham

Dr. Stanley Whittingham is a SUNY distinguished professor of chemistry and the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Laureate for pioneering research leading to the development of the lithium-ion batteries. The Nickel Institute’s battery specialist, Dr. Parvin Adeli caught up with him to talk about his long career in battery research and what’s next.

BATTERY CHAT BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
NOVEMBER 09 - 2022

Renewable energy shines with concentrated solar power

Reducing energy-related CO2 emissions is pivotal to limiting climate change, with the main drivers to bring about the required carbon reductions being renewable energy and energy efficiency. Concentrated solar power is one such renewable energy technology set to increase dramatically in the foreseeable future. It will need to provide energy at a competitive cost to outshine the competition.

SUSTAINABILITY RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT NICKEL MAGAZINE
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 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
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
APRIL 04 - 2022

What differentiates China’s EV market from the others?

In 2021, China recorded the strongest growth in the EV market with around 3.2 million EVs sold. This was an increase of 2 million EV units compared to 2020 which was more than the combined increase of all other regions taken together.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES CHINA RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MARCH 30 - 2022

Four-million-mile battery is now a reality

A team of researchers, led by Professor Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University, have developed and demonstrated batteries that can last four million miles (almost six million km).

BATTERIES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
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
JANUARY 11 - 2022

Why China’s nickel carbon footprint assessment will advance global carbon neutrality

Major economies across the globe are setting climate neutrality targets. But proper measurement and methodologies are needed to provide transparency and common benchmarks when assessing carbon footprint. At a recent event in China, there was general consensus on the importance of adopting a harmonized approach to carbon footprint calculation and disclosure.

CHINA SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES SUPPLY CHAIN
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
DECEMBER 07 - 2021

Electric trucks and buses – no longer second fiddle to electric cars

Electrification of light-duty vehicles is trending in many parts of the world and is on track to become a consumer driven phenomenon but let’s not forget the heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RENEWABLE ENERGY 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
SEPTEMBER 09 - 2021

The amazing role of high-temperature nickel alloys and stainless steels for Concentrated Solar Power

Nickel-based alloys and nickel-containing stainless are playing key roles in an emerging source of renewable energy known as thermal solar plants or concentrated solar power (CSP). Their use has enabled the industry to overcome challenges in heat transfer and thermal storage technology.

NICKEL MAGAZINE STAINLESS STEEL SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS BATTERIES RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MAY 10 - 2021

Producing green hydrogen

The many new and innovative applications of hydrogen as fuel show great promise for a greener future.

NICKEL MAGAZINE SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
APRIL 15 - 2021

Battery Chat with Parri #4: Prof. Stefano Passerini

Professor Stefano Passerini is the Director of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli regarding their work on high-voltage LNMO cathodes and electrolyte additives, among other topics.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT BATTERY CHAT
MARCH 05 - 2021

Electric vehicle safety : concerns and considerations

As electric vehicles (EVs) trend from being niche to mass scale and the lines between EVs and their combustion engine (ICE) counterparts get blurred in terms of usability, consumers, automakers, governments and fire departments continue to have some apprehensions.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
FEBRUARY 24 - 2021

Battery Chat with Parri #3: Dr. Ilias Belharouak

Dr. Ilias Belharouak is the head of electrification and energy storage at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli about the various energy storage topics his group are investigating including a new class of cathodes that they developed recently and its scale-up path.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY BATTERIES SUSTAINABILITY BATTERY CHAT
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
JANUARY 13 - 2021

Single crystal Ni-containing cathodes - A conversation with Prof. Jeff Dahn

Professor Jeff Dahn, at the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada explains how single crystal technology is proving to be a promising solution to the challenge of overcoming range anxiety which is high on the agenda of electric vehicle manufacturers and battery developers.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
DECEMBER 03 - 2020

Battery Chat with Parri #2: Prof. Feng Lin

Dr. Feng Lin is an assistant professor in the chemistry department of Virginia Tech. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli about his scientific journey and his research into cathodes and catalysts.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT BATTERY CHAT
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
OCTOBER 15 - 2020

Battery Chat with Parri #1: Prof. Arumugam Manthiram

Prof. Arumugam Manthiram, a renowned professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has contributed substantially to the field of energy storage with his research having great impact on the scientific community. In this chat, Prof. Manthiram shares his research path briefly, his perspective on current research performed on high-nickel cathodes, and a glimpse of his future research directions.

BATTERIES ELECTRIC VEHICLES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT BATTERY CHAT
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 10 - 2020

Battle of the batteries - Cost versus Performance

The last three months have been unprecedented. But amidst the chaos and despite the drop in global GDP, there has still been a considerable amount of activity in the electric vehicle (EV) and battery world.

CHINA ELECTRIC VEHICLES BATTERIES
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
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