Nickel Institute’s Battery Day

The ‘western’ nickel industry faces both challenges and opportunities to secure its place in the battery boom and seize the benefits. We will address key questions such as: what are the challenges posed by the Chinese hegemony, and are the strategic responses from ex.Chinese policymakers and manufacturers working? Can nickel sustain its future in batteries? How can the ex.Indonesia industry secure itself as the supplier of choice to the western battery value chain? How can nickel producers share more of the economic benefits enjoyed by their downstream customers?

As global uptake of electric vehicles surges around the globe, nickel has emerged as a critical component for enhancing battery performance, by providing higher range and efficiency. At the forefront of this shift is Indonesia, leveraging High-Pressure Acid Leach technology to supply this rapidly growing market. This presentation will explore the current nickel market dynamics with a focus on Indonesia's strategic role and nickel's critical impact on the evolving EV landscape.

Nickel is the major component of NMC lithium-ion battery cathode materials due to its favorable physicochemical and electrochemical properties. Traditional NMC synthesis is complex and costly. NOVONIX has developed all-dry, zero-waste processing methods to alleviate these detrimental attributes. In this talk, an overview of NOVONIX processing methods will be illustrated while highlighting the importance of the source of nickel feed on the overall NMC cathode powder performance.

Layered oxide cathodes with high nickel content offer higher energy density while lowering cost, but they are hampered by exponentially aggravating cycle, thermal, and air instabilities. This presentation will focus on delineating bulk vs. surface instability, including the origin of crack formation and growth as well as the role of electrolytes, dopants, and surface modification.

The presentation analyzes the market and economic drivers of lithium-ion battery (LiB) recycling in North America. It covers the current and projected LiB demand, supply, and recycling capacity, as well as the key factors influencing the recycling value chain. It also discusses the challenges and opportunities for LiB recycling with a focus on hydrometallurgical refineries.

This presentation explores the performance requirements for lithium-ion batteries across key markets of electric vehicles, energy storage, portable devices, and emerging sectors like aviation. It discusses the selection of cathode chemistries, highlighting the performance crossover points between lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or its doped variations (LXFP) and nickel-based cathodes. It will highlight how anode and electrolyte innovations are intended to pair with different cathode chemistries to meet future performance goals. Key discussion points include how nickel chemistries will be necessary for high-demand environments as well as meeting material challenges for future battery performance requirements and supply chain challenges in North America.

The presentation will cover the provincial government strategy and how it was operationalized by Investissement Quebec to position the province in attracting foreign investment in critical mineral and battery supply chain. What is the state of the sector today as we are implementing these projects and what types of challenges are we facing now? And finally, where are we going for the next 3 to 5 years ahead?

General Motors is rapidly making progress towards its commitment to an all-electric future. From product launches, to infrastructure investment, to battery and supply chain localization, GM is leading the way. This presentation will give an overview of GM's comprehensive investments in the electric vehicle space and the status of these efforts.