As the world gears up for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-29) in November this year, nations which are most vulnerable to climate change are launching and executing strategies to mitigate the extreme variability and erratic fluctuations in global weather.
The ambitious future of India’s rail infrastructure requires prudent investments that ensure its long-term viability. This is where nickel-containing steels play a vital role.
Nickel-based catalysts are key to supplying energy to power our transportation of goods and people, whether by land, sea, or air.
After several years of negotiation between EU institutions, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Regulation was adopted in 2023.
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.
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.
Vacuum insulated piping (VIP) makes it possible to transport liquefied gases at temperatures well below 0 °C to facilitate the energy transition
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Even small quantities of nickel in an application can make a big difference to successful deployment.
Geothermal energy for electric power production has a low profile yet is significant in the current and potential energy mix for a number of countries. It has also been described as the most reliable of the renewable energy sources, above weather-dependent wind, solar and hydropower.
The many new and innovative applications of hydrogen as fuel show great promise for a greener future.
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.
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.
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.
New advances in the use of Artificial Intelligence have the potential to speed up the process of alloy development.
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...
Food safety starts with rigorous hygiene, and nickel-containing stainless steels are the superior, reliable standard at every link of the food chain.
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.
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.
Nickel’s role in enabling technologies is not always common knowledge. Yet its versatile properties present great opportunity for the nickel industry.
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.
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.
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.