Nickel is mainly used in the manufacture of stainless steel, high-nickel alloy steel, and alloy structural steel, among others. In the military manufacturing industry, it is widely usedAirplanes, radars, missiles, tanks, ships, spaceships, atomic reactorsetc.;In the civil industry, nickel is often made into structural steel, acid-resistant steel, heat-resistant steel and other materials used in various machinery manufacturing, petroleum and other industriesNickel with chromium, copper, aluminum, cobaltand other elements can be composed of non-ferrous alloys, nickel-based alloys, nickel-chromium-based alloys, etc., which are used to manufacture high-temperature, oxidation-resistant materials, and are widely used in the manufacture of jetsTurbines, resistors, electric heating elements, high-temperature equipment structural partsand other fields;In addition, nickel has a wide range of uses in ceramic pigments and anti-corrosion coatings, as well as in the chemical industry.
From 2009 to 2018, the global nickel** volume and demand increased year by year, but the gap between supply and demand increased year by yearGlobal nickel production in 2018 was 227420,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 986% and refined nickel consumption of 236420,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 1205%, the difference between supply and demand is 90,000 tons. Global nickel demand increased to 2.43 million tonnes in 2019 and global nickel production increased to 2.41 million tonnes in 2019. **Global nickel demand increased by 2.45 million tonnes in 2020, and production remained basically unchanged at 2.44 million tonnes, further narrowing the supply-demand balance.
China's nickel demand has increased year by year, but the volume has not fluctuated significantlyThe gap between supply and demand for nickel is increasing year by year, and it is manifested as a shortage of supply. China's nickel production in 2018 was 7450,000 tons, the consumption is 11110,000 tons, domestic production is far lower than demand, and China relies heavily on imports of nickel products, and domestic nickel ** largely depends on international nickel prices.
Nickel downstream consumption is still dominated by stainless steel, about seventy percent of the world's nickel is used in stainless steel production, and this proportion in China is more than 80%. The battery field accounts for a relatively low proportion, and nickel for high-nickel ternary consumption in the power battery of new energy vehicles is expected to become a new bright spot in nickel consumption in the future. Global nickel consumption in 2018 was 236420,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 79%, of which 111 is nickel consumption in China140,000 tons, accounting for 47% of global nickel consumption, making it the world's largest nickel consumer. With the strong domestic nickel consumption, it is expected that the domestic nickel consumption will continue to grow in the next few years, and the situation of short supply and demand will continue to continue.
At present, the global production of 380,000 tons of nickel sulfate in 2017 consumed less than 5% of nickel metal, which is far less than the contribution of stainless steel to nickel consumption. However, from the perspective of growth rate and consumption increment, it is incomparable with other fields in the downstream of nickel. Stainless steel accounted for 67% of global nickel consumption in 20173%, battery accounts for 31%；It is expected that by 2020, the proportion of nickel used in the global stainless steel industry will drop to 642%, and nickel used in the battery industry will increase to 7%.
In 2025, the global battery industry is expected to use 300,000 tons of nickel, with stainless steel accounting for 61% and the battery industry accounting for 10%. According to Antaike information, there is an obvious inflection point in the growth rate of nickel in the battery field in the year, so the nickel market is still sensitive to the response of nickel sulfate consumption demand.
In addition, there is still uncertainty in the supply of nickel ore in the Philippines and Indonesia, and the supply elasticity of primary nickel is large, and there is no risk of raw material shortage in terms of the current demand for battery-grade nickel sulfate. According to the International Nickel Research Organization**, global nickel consumption will increase to 2.52 million tonnes by 2021. With the growth of stainless steel production as well as production in the battery industry, the demand for nickel will grow further, and consumption is expected to grow at a rate of around 5% over the next 5 years.