Stainless Steel World Magazine December 2023 | Seite 24

1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100

0

Nickel pig iron production ( in 1000 tonnes )

2015 2016

Sources : INSG , Antaike , SMM , MySteel

for EV batteries . For 2024 , production is forecast to expand by + 3.3 %, with the ramp up of North Macedonian and Finnish production . In Oceania , primary nickel production recovered in 2022 , with an increase of + 4.6 %, and is forecast to further rise in 2023 by + 3.3 % and in 2024 by + 3.6 %, with growth in both Australia and New Caledonia ( France ). There is uncertainty regarding the latter due to the fact that the producers and the local government

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 ( f ) 2024 ( f )

China Indonesia

are reevaluating the companies ’ profitability .

Primary nickel usage World nickel usage has grown steadily since 2009 , with the only exception being 2020 , when it declined by -0.6 %. In 2023 and 2024 , usage is forecast to increase by + 8.0 % and + 8.7 %, to reach 3,195 Mt and 3,474 Mt , respectively . In both years , demand in all world regions is expected to expand , with the exception of Africa in 2023 . China will have the biggest increase in absolute volume . In 2023 , Asia will account for 85.9 % of global primary nickel usage , reinforcing its dominant position ( as a reference , Asia ’ s share in 2010 was 63 %). Further growth of + 9.5 % is anticipated in the region in 2024 . Demand in China is forecast to increase by + 16 % in 2023 and + 9.1 % in 2024 . The country is the largest consuming market in the world . It will use 63.5 % of the world ’ s primary nickel in 2023 , with a further increase of 0.3 percentage points in 2024 . In terms of quantity , the main driving sector is STS , though the battery sector is growing faster in terms of percentage . Indonesia started producing STS in 2017 and became the second most important nickel user in 2020 ( with usage growing to 210kt , surpassing that of Japan ). The country had a strong increase in 2021 , reaching 383kt , but due to import restrictions from several countries , output decreased in 2022 . Consumption is likely to decline further to 335kt in 2023 but should recover in 2024 to a level of around 390kt . Nickel usage in Europe is expected to recover by + 0.5 % in 2023 and grow by a further + 5.1 % in 2024 . Similarly , in the Americas , usage is projected to expand by + 1.4 % in 2023 and + 2.5 % in 2024 . In

160000

Estimated Indonesian nickel exports ( in 1000 tonnes , nickel content ) Total Exports Nickel ( in metal )

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

Sources : Indonesian Customs , INSG .

FeNi + NPI Matte MHP

24 Stainless Steel World December 2023 www . stainless-steel-world . net