In a newly-released report on the nickel sulfate industry, Roskill forecasts that the expanding EV industry will become the key driver of growth in nickel demand.
In the past, the market for nickel sulfate was largely driven by the plating industry and non-Li-ion battery applications, such as NiMH and NiCd batteries, but year-over-year growth in these areas has stagnated. Since 2014, owing to the mass production of Li-ion batteries and the popularity of ternary cathode materials (composed of nickel, cobalt, manganese or aluminum) in portable electronics and EVs, the consumption of nickel sulfate has markedly increased as requirements for Li-ion batteries have grown.
In September 2017, Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LON:APF) entered into a royalty agreement with Brazilian Nickel Ltd (Brazilian Nickel) to acquire an initial 1% gross revenue royalty over the Piauí nickel-cobalt project.