Nickel is a hard, ductile and ferromagnetic metal that is highly polishable and corrosion-resistant. Nickel is an iron-loving element. The core of the earth is mainly composed of iron and nickel.

1. Stainless steel

From the perspective of downstream fields, stainless steel is currently the largest application of nickel, accounting for more than 70%, and the global demand for stainless steel is showing a steady growth trend. The downstream applications of stainless steel include metal products, pipes, transportation, electricity, etc. According to the metal composition, the current mainstream stainless steel in the market can be divided into 200 series, 300 series and 400 series. The 300 series has the highest nickel content, reaching 8%-10%, the 200 series has a nickel content of about 1%-5%, and the 400 series has the lowest nickel content, less than 1%. Nickel is an excellent corrosion-resistant material that can enhance the stainlessness and corrosion resistance of stainless steel. According to the Stainless Steel Branch of the China Special Steel Enterprise Association, in 2021, the 300 series accounted for the highest proportion of China's stainless steel crude steel output, reaching 49%.

China is the world's major stainless steel producer, producing 60% of the world's stainless steel in 2020. Tsingshan Group is the largest stainless steel company in China. In 2020, Tsingshan Group's stainless steel crude steel output reached 10.8 million tons, with a market share of 36% in China and 21% in the world; followed by TISCO Stainless Steel, with a market share of 14% in China and 8% in the world.

2. Demand in the chemical industry

Pure nickel is generally used in corrosion-resistant structural parts of chemical equipment, precision instruments, electronic tubes and radio equipment parts. High-purity nickel N4 has a large demand in electrolysis, electroplating and other industries, mainly wide medium and thick plates. Ultra-pure nickel is used in batteries and other fields. Pure nickel and N10276 cold-rolled thin plates with a thickness of 0.5mm to 0.6mm are in great demand in the manufacture of plate heat exchangers. Iron-nickel-based corrosion-resistant alloys N08020 and N08028 plates are widely used in the preparation of oil and gas transmission pipelines. N08825 and pipeline steel composite material pipelines are in great demand in the oil industry. Nickel-based corrosion-resistant alloys N06600, N04400, N06625, and N10276 have excellent corrosion resistance and large market demand. In the past, they were all imported in large quantities, but now they are gradually being domestically produced. In order to save costs, reduce welds, and improve safety, this type of industry mainly requires wide medium and thick plates with a thickness greater than 6mm, a width greater than 1800mm, and a length of more than 5000mm.

3. Demand in the field of electrical and electronic engineering

Nickel alloy functional materials for electronic and electrical engineering are an important aspect of nickel alloy applications, mainly used in home appliances, IT manufacturing, information products, and electrical product manufacturing. For example, there is a great demand for nickel alloy strips for color TV manufacturing, and the localization rate is less than 10%, which provides opportunities for the development of nickel-based precision alloys. However, it requires high technical capabilities and equipment strength.

4. Power batteries

We believe that future nickel demand will be mainly driven by new energy vehicles. In the medium and long term, the demand for high-nickel ternary lithium nickel is forecasted to be 2018-2030 (million tons) and will still be the main choice for passenger car power batteries due to its energy density advantage, especially for mid-to-high-end models. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are expected to occupy the mid- and low-end markets mainly due to their cost advantages.

Nickel sulfate is an important part of new energy vehicle batteries. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, battery nickel demand will increase from 110,000 tons in 2018 to more than 1.5 million tons in 2030, with a CAGR of more than 22%. According to the different content of nickel sulfate, it can be divided into electroplating grade and battery grade. Battery-grade nickel sulfate is one of the main raw materials for ternary precursors, and ternary precursors are key materials for preparing ternary positive electrodes.

5. Demand in the field of nuclear power and new energy

Nickel-based high-temperature alloys have good high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance or certain specific environmental adaptability. In 2018, a total of 7 nuclear power units in China were officially put into commercial operation. Although the annual increase in the nuclear power industry has large fluctuations, in the long run, it still maintains a growth trend. In the nuclear power equipment manufacturing industry, high-temperature alloy materials have excellent properties such as high temperature resistance and high strength resistance, and have an irreplaceable role. They are mainly used in nuclear islands that undertake nuclear reactions. The main components of nuclear power equipment that use high-temperature alloys include fuel units, control rods, pressure vessels, evaporators, high-temperature gas furnace heat exchangers, etc. These components need to withstand high temperatures of 600℃ to 800℃ when working, require high creep strength, and must use high-temperature alloy materials.

6. Demand in the aerospace field

At present, the nickel-based high-temperature alloys urgently needed in my country's aerospace field are far behind those in foreign countries. The turbine blades used in engines of domestic large aircraft projects, aviation projects, and military aircraft are in urgent need of high-performance high-temperature alloys. After several generations of development, high-temperature alloys are currently used in advanced foreign aircraft engines to manufacture single-crystal turbine blades. This technology is very difficult, and there are many defects in the manufacture of domestic blades. Domestic research on single-crystal high-temperature alloy materials and blade manufacturing is weak, and high-temperature alloy manufacturing technology for aerospace has become the key to restricting the development of related industries in my country.

7. Demand in the medical field

Titanium-nickel shape memory alloys are widely used in human heart stents, dental corrections and other fields. The main domestic titanium-nickel shape memory alloy production units are concentrated in Beijing and Xi'an. With the gradual increase in R&D investment in my country's medical device industry, the technological innovation and material application of medical device products have developed rapidly, and the demand for high-tech materials such as shape memory alloys has shown a clear upward trend. The demand for shape memory alloys in my country's medical field has reached 5 billion yuan. At the same time, the demand for shape memory alloys in emerging industries such as aerospace, automobiles, and robots has also shown a rapid growth trend.