Current Status and Expansion of Global Nickel Product Market Applications

 Current Status and Expansion of Global Nickel Product Market Applications

Nickel consumption purposes

Nickel first use 2025;

Stainless steel is the largest first use area for nickel, followed by batteries, which have been the fastest-growing sector over the past decade.

End use of nickel in 2025;

Nickel has a wide range of applications, covering almost all industries including consumer goods, catering and food processing, mobile and transportation, as well as construction, building and construction, energy, and more.

Nickel market flow in 2025;

Global primary nickel usage - comparison between the first seven months of 2025 and the same period in 2024;

In the first seven months of 2025, the usage of primary nickel has significantly increased by about 110000 tons compared to the same period last year. This is equivalent to an increase of about 5.7% compared to the previous year.

Pay attention to stainless steel

The amount of nickel divided by the first use field;

Stainless steel is still the main application area of nickel, followed by batteries; The compound annual growth rate of nickel usage is 6%, but the relative share of each first-time use area has remained stable in the past few years.

Evolution of Global Stainless Steel Production: Share of Production and Grade;

The global crude steel production of stainless steel will be approximately 62.6 million tons by 2025; An increase of 7% compared to the previous year; The ten-year compound annual growth rate is about 4%.

Proportion of global stainless steel production and grade;

Global stainless steel production: Q1 to Q2 2025;

According to data from the World Stainless Steel Association, the total global crude steel production of stainless steel in the first two quarters of 2025 was 31.9 million tons, an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year.

China's stainless steel production by steel grade in the first eight months of 2025;

The growth of stainless steel in China is driven by the 300 series;

From January to August, China's stainless steel production reached 27.25 million tons, an increase of 3% compared to the first eight months of the same period last year 2%.

The growth is mainly driven by the 300 series, with its production increasing by 4.8% to 13.9 million tons.

The 200 series and 400 series have 1.7% and 2% respectively, reaching 8.4 million tons and 5 million tons.

Comparison of global stainless steel production between China and Indonesia;

In the past decade, China's market share has increased from 52% to 63%; Indonesia's share is 8%, as it did not produce stainless steel before 2017.

In 2024, China and Indonesia together account for 70% of global stainless steel production;

The supply of stainless steel in Indonesia slightly exceeds 5 million tons, mainly attributed to Chinese production enterprises Qingshan Group and Delong.

China and Indonesia - proportion of stainless steel grade by 2025;

Comparison of stainless steel crude steel production between China and the world;

2024 first half vs 2025 first half

In the first half of 2025, China's crude stainless steel production increased by 5% year-on-year; During the same period, global stainless steel crude steel production increased by 3%.

Focus on batteries

Evolution of global and Chinese electric vehicle sales and China's share in the global electric vehicle market:

From 2020 to 2024, China currently holds a 64% share of the global electric vehicle market.

Regional electric vehicle sales: comparison between 2024 and the first eight months of 2025

Global electric vehicle sales increase by 25% in the first eight months of 2025; During this period, China sold approximately 8 million electric vehicles.

Global battery suppliers and chemical systems nickel usage: 2024

In 2024, the global nickel consumption for electric vehicle batteries will be approximately 323000 tons; More than one-third of it is used for electric vehicles in the Chinese market.

The global nickel loading capacity of newly sold passenger car batteries in 2024 is approximately 323000 tons;

The high nickel NCM system (NCM8 and NCM9) accounts for up to 33%, the low nickel system (NCM5 and NCM1) accounts for 24%, and the medium nickel system (NCM6 and NCM7) accounts for 18%. The combined proportion of NCA and NCMA is about 16%. Nickel hydrogen batteries (9%) are mainly used in hybrid vehicles;

CATL, LG New Energy, and Panasonic are the top three battery manufacturers in terms of nickel usage.

The deployment of nickel in Chinese battery suppliers and chemical systems in 2024;

In 2024, a total of 323000 tons of nickel will be deployed in the global electric vehicle battery field, of which more than one-third will be used for electric vehicles in China.

In 2024, China will deploy approximately 113000 tons of nickel in the field of newly sold passenger car electric vehicle batteries;

Nickel is mainly used in the chemical systems of NCM5 (48%) and NCM8 (41%) batteries;

According to the deployment of nickel, CATL, Zhongchuang New Aviation, and LG New Energy rank among the top three battery production enterprises;

Leading nickel deployment models include Tesla Model Y, Jike 001, Ideal L7 Extended Range, and SAIC Volkswagen ID.3;

By 2025, Xiaomi SU7 will become the electric vehicle with the highest nickel consumption in China thanks to its NCM8 chemical system.

Evolution of nickel usage in electric vehicles: comparison between China and the world from 2020 to 2024;

Despite the dominance of lithium iron phosphate based battery chemical materials, China still accounts for about one-third of the global nickel demand for electric vehicles

According to Adamas Intelligence, global nickel usage in electric vehicles has sharply increased from 80500 tons in 2020 to 323200 tons in 2024; This means a fourfold increase within five years, reflecting the rapid adoption of electric vehicles worldwide and the increasing demand for nickel based battery chemical materials; The usage of nickel in China increased from 27300 tons in 2020 to 112900 tons in 2024 (also a four fold increase); China has always accounted for about one-third of the global nickel demand for electric vehicles.

Global nickel usage in electric vehicles in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2025;

According to Adamas Intelligence, the use of nickel in electric vehicle batteries increased by 11% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.