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
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
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
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
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 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
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
SEPTEMBER 25 - 2020

Investment strategy of automakers and auto-battery alliances

The present-day principal driver in the Li-ion industry is the large batteries required for electric vehicles. Due to the size of these batteries and the relative growth of electric vehicles it is predicted that the total Li-ion energy capacity will exceed one tera watt-hour by 2030. This anticipation for a dramatically rapidly expanding industry has stakeholders all along the value chain very motivated to be ready.

BATTERIES SUPPLY CHAIN
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
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
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
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