Ni · category: battery · USD / tonne
Indonesia controls ~55% of mined nickel; LME Class 1 premium widening on US IRA-compliant grades.
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/823 extends import restrictions on Russian Class-1 nickel through Q2-2027. Existing long-term contracts grandfathered until 2026-12-31. EU OEMs accelerating substitution programs.
President signed Reg. 18/2026. Downstream value-addition mandate maintained. Chinese-built HPAL capacity now ~620ktpa Ni-eq, but ESG and FEOC issues block IRA qualification of most output.