Chronickels

Nickel news, views, commentary and insights

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
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
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
JANUARY 30 - 2023

Measuring nickel's carbon footprint

Because the first step in reducing emissions is to measure them, the Nickel Institute has produced guidance to help nickel metal producers calculate their GHG emissions.

NICKEL MAGAZINE SUSTAINABILITY ELECTRIC VEHICLES
DECEMBER 08 - 2022

Energy Crisis: can electric vehicles be game changers?

Just as the EV revolution was gearing up to become consumer driven, there was an increase in raw material prices, semi-conductor shortages and recently a steep rise in electricity prices. At a time of energy crisis, are EVs still a game changer?

SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES RENEWABLE ENERGY
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
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
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
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
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
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
OCTOBER 28 - 2021

Nickel and net-zero

As delegates to the UN COP26 Climate Change conference in Glasgow grapple with the climate crisis, clean energy solutions will be in focus. Although clean energy technologies rely on metals and minerals that are unavoidably energy intensive to produce, the IEA says that the climate advantages of these technologies remain clear.

SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS RENEWABLE ENERGY
SEPTEMBER 23 - 2021

Wind and water - Nickel in clean energy

Even small quantities of nickel in an application can make a big difference to successful deployment.

NICKEL ALLOYS STAINLESS STEEL WATER SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS BATTERIES RENEWABLE ENERGY
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
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
JULY 27 - 2020

Is nickel sustainable in electric vehicle batteries?

The short answer is: yes, nickel can be a sustainable material throughout the entire value chain, from mining, manufacturing, to use and end of life – if all actors throughout the value chain step up and take their responsibility. Now let's look at the longer answer...

SUSTAINABILITY BATTERIES EU POLICY ELECTRIC VEHICLES
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
APRIL 21 - 2020

Functional façades help tackle building emissions

Around two-thirds of today’s buildings will still be around in 2050, and by 2060, the world is projected to add 230 billion m² of buildings - an area equivalent to the entire current global building stock. What can the building and construction sector do to reduce the environmental burden of buildings?

CURTAIN WALLS SUSTAINABILITY ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
MARCH 24 - 2020

Onboard with marine scrubbers - resilient solutions for lower emissions

Ever-tightening sulphur oxide (SOx) emission regulations are increasing the use of marine scrubbers globally. Scrubbers operate in a highly corrosive environment and require the resilience of nickel-containing alloys to prevent failure.

NICKEL ALLOYS MARINE SCRUBBERS TECHNICAL HELP
FEBRUARY 29 - 2020

Why Europe’s battery value chain needs regulatory certainty – now

European nickel producers need a consistent regulatory framework. There must be coherence between different EU policy objectives with rules based on principles of sound science, risk-based approaches, full life-cycle thinking and impact assessments.

BATTERIES EU POLICY RAW MATERIALS SUSTAINABILITY
FEBRUARY 19 - 2020

Opportunity knocks for nickel

Nickel’s role in enabling technologies is not always common knowledge. Yet its versatile properties present great opportunity for the nickel industry.

TECHNICAL HELP MARINE SCRUBBERS WATER DISTRIBUTION
JANUARY 30 - 2020

Lose the leaks

Partially corrugated stainless steel service pipes have reduced water leakage rates drastically in Tokyo where they were introduced in the 1980s. Now other innovative water authorities faced with the urgent need to reduce water loss are also examining the nickel-containing stainless steel solution.

WATER WATER PIPES WATER LOSS STAINLESS STEEL
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