Nickel can be found in many forms from nanowires to stainless steel alloys. But what are the properties of nickel that make it an essential element in batteries?
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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.
Even small quantities of nickel in an application can make a big difference to successful deployment.
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.