Expensive nickel puts electrification at risk

Dusseldorf The rapidly rising raw material prices worry the car manufacturers. Above all, the shortage of nickel, which is crucial for the production of batteries, endangers the transformation to electromobility. Volkswagen responded on Monday, announcing the establishment of joint ventures with two Chinese partners to secure nickel supplies. As VW announced, the first agreements in principle had already been signed. Volkswagen wants to develop new deposits of the metal in Indonesia with the joint venture partners.

So far, many manufacturers have mainly used nickel from Russian mines for their battery cells. But the harsh sanctions against Moscow have made it more difficult to import raw materials from Russia. In addition, nickel prices have quintupled since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. But other raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and copper have also become massively more expensive.