Nickel is becoming one of the most important minerals for the global energy transition. And now, Australia wants to make sure they don’t get left behind.
What’s happening:
- Australia has officially added nickel to their list of critical minerals for the very first time
Why it matters:
- Nickel is an essential mineral for the energy transition, as it is a one of the most important inputs for manufacturing electric vehicles
- Australia adding nickel to its list of critical minerals will enable Australian based nickel exploration companies to begin to receive government loans and grants to advance their projects
- In North America, there has been a race to secure domestic sources of supply of nickel which has led to multiple large lithium-ion battery manufacturers making strategic investments into nickel companies and leading electric vehicle companies to enter into nickel offtake agreements
Going deeper:
- The United States has also been putting a major focus on nickel recently, including notable grants from both the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to Talon Metals (TSX: TLO)
- Talon Metals has one of the most promising nickel properties in the entire United States and already has secured a significant offtake agreement to supply Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) with nickel for their electric vehicles
The intrigue:
- Australia also recently publicly stated that they plan to unveil one of their largest funding efforts ever for companies focused on the energy transition in the near future, although no specifics have been formally announced
