Indonesia is experiencing the fastest demand growth for both mined and finished nickel. Finished nickel demand surged from virtually zero in 2016 to almost 400kt within five years. While mined demand also saw a massive jump since the 2020 ore export ban.
But is it ‘Green’?
Indonesia is targeting carbon
neutrality by 2060. A pilot carbon trading scheme has recently been launched to
help reduce emissions from coal energy plants. There is currently no carbon tax
on nickel production. In 2020, Indonesia was estimated to have released 589.5Mt of
emissions. The country's volume of emissions has been gradually increasing as
it develops its manufacturing-based economy.
CATL is expanding its
portfolio of sustainable battery projects with the construction of a recycling
facility and a cero-carbon manufacturing plant. This facility will be an
example for the rest of the company’s production facilities moving forward.
Tsingshan’s integrated
RKEF-AOD operation design has also reduced energy consumption and emissions, as
the heated ferronickel is charged directly into the stainless-steel mills.