Special Brief on “Devil’s Material” (Nickel)

The ‘devil’s metal’ was discovered in 1751 in the cobalt mines of Hälsingland, Sweden. That was the dubious moniker bestowed on nickel by the miners who first found the ore. Why? They blamed supernatural forces for its subsequent failure to yield copper.

This ESG on Sunday Nickel briefing takes you behind the scenes of the current state of nickel production and demand worldwide and offers insight into the geopolitical dynamics choking the green transition. The devil’s metal will indeed be one of the major topics of the green transition over the next 20 years.

As the world races toward cleaner energy and electrified transportation, the demand for essential metals is skyrocketing. Battery materials like cobalt, lithium, graphite, manganese, and nickel have become the backbone of the transition, fueling a global scramble for critical resources. Countries rich in these metals now find themselves at the center of both economic opportunity and geopolitical tension.