I was first introduced to electricity and energy grids while living in Indonesia at the age of 17. I began to develop an understanding of the importance of maintaining and mitigating blackouts, outages, and access to affordable, clean, sustainable, and modern energy. Through my time at college, my research and interest evolved into a specific mineral known as Nickel.
Nickel is a silvery-white metal that is highly reactive to acids and has a melting point of 2,651°F. During the 1980’s, nickel became a popular mineral for the rechargeable battery movement. The motive to heavily use nickel began to decline following the next few decades and has recently been brought back into the spotlight. There has been a strong push for nickel to be classified as a critical mineral following
copper, lithium, and cobalt, which are all vital pieces for today’s clean technology technologies. 69% of
nickel’s main importance is used for stainless steel, with an additional 11% for batteries.
When referring to batteries, “Nickel has been a major component for delivering higher energy density and greater storage capacity for a lower cost compared to many other options.” Currently, Electric Vehicles (EV’s) have been a major trend that are in high demand for nickel and its anti-corrosion perk. Commonly found in airline and industrial applications, Nickel-cadmium batteries are more popular with its high durability and ability to withstand seasonal temperature changes.
At the global stage, Australia had been identified as the largest country to contain nickel reserves within its borders. With a heavier focus on nickel and modern technology, it was recently recognized that other
countries around the world do in fact hold large nickel reserves. In 2021, evidence shows that Indonesia and Brazil are two other countries that have a high concentration of nickel reserves. Australia has a strong alliance with many countries in the West, including the United States, which makes trading for nickel easier.
Experts believe that by 2035, Australia’s nickel reserves would be completely depleted and that an alternative source would need to be considered to continue with the greener initiative. This is where Indonesia plays a key role for the United States and its motives as the nickel reserves in Indonesia have yet to be fully acted upon and the focus for cooperation and strong ties between the U.S. and Indonesia are critical.
While Indonesia may have the center of attention, it is important to recognize that policies and regulations should be enacted to prevent many negative side-effects such as land degradation, loss of biomes, endangered species losing their homes, and many other factors. Education is a tool that becomes a necessity when interacting with critical minerals applying pros and cons into the equation.
