The Russian invasion over Ukraine has caused the crude oil prices to hike that has resulted in the increase of the gas prices across the globe. The gas prices in the United States has reached to record levels and might be a time when people might think that electric cars could be the best option for them. But before people take such a decision, one has to wait and watch as the prices of the electric cars could sky rocket as well due the demand. Another reason is that Russia is an important producer of the nickel that is used for the batteries that are used in the electric vehicles. The price of the metal has become even more expensive.
A recent report mentioned that the price of nickel was trading at the London Metal Exchange for $24,000 a ton on February 25, 2022. But by March 8, 2022, the metal was trading at $80,000 that was down from a peak of more than $100,000 and this was when the London metal Exchange had suspended trading. There are a number of reasons for the massive price hike. One of them is the general inflation and other financial issues. Another important factor that cannot be ignored is the fact that the producer of nickel is at war with Ukraine and is also facing a number of international sanctions.
At the same time, it has to be noticed that while talking about mining nickel, Russia is not a big player and that the country supplies 6 percent of the world’s nickel and puts it behind Philippines and Indonesia. However, the country’s role in producing the battery grade nickel that is used in EVs is a different matter altogether. Reports say that nearly 20 percent of its supply comes from a single Russian company.
While the automakers are aware of the crisis, they are now looking forward to switch to better alternatives. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla has said that it will be shifting its nickel powered lithium ion batteries to iron cathode tech.
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