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Despite lithium, nickel still crucial for EV batteries: Industry players
Industry players in the world's largest nickel producer are adamant about the future of the mineral in electric vehicles despite a resurgence in demand for lithium iron phosphate batteries.
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Deputy State-Owned Enterprises Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo (center) looks at a model during a visit on Sept. 15, 2022 to a PT Barata Indonesia factory in Gresik, East Java, after signing a heads of agreement (HoA) on developing and manufacturing of electric vehicle components with PT VKTR Mobility Technology president director Gilarsi W. Setijono (left), PT Barata Indonesia marketing director Sulistyo Handoko (second left) and PT PPA president director Yadi Jaya Ruchandi (right). (Courtesy of PT VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas/-)
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ndonesian manufacturers are confident about the future of nickel as material input crucial for producing electric vehicle batteries, despite the increasing popularity of batteries made using lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
LFP batteries, which do not contain either cobalt or nickel, have been clawing back market share from nickel-rich alternatives over the past two years, almost entirely due to their use by the United States’ Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Auto Co. Ltd., both industry giants.
The latest figures published by consultancy Adamas Intelligence show that LFP batteries’ market share jumped from 17 percent in January 2021 to 26 percent in January 2022, and then to 31 percent last September.
Its market growth is expected to continue as electric carmakers seek to lower costs in an increasingly competitive arena amid tightening nickel and cobalt supplies, at a time when iron and phosphorus are still widely available.
Gilarsi W. Setijono, president director of PT VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing arm of conglomerate Bakrie & Brothers, said the growing market share of LFP batteries was no cause for concern for nickel-rich Indonesia as the world shifts up a gear in the transition to EVs.
“Scientists are creating more alternative battery chemistries aside from LFP and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide [LNMC] to meet expected skyrocketing demand,” he told The Jakarta Post last Friday.
Global demand for EV batteries is projected to grow 30 percent annually, reaching close to 4,500 gigawatt-hours (GWh) globally by 2030, McKinsey & Company said in a report. The management consulting firm also said it expected the battery value chain to increase tenfold between 2020 and 2030 to an annual revenue of US$410 billion.
