Annual Report
2024

Nickel is a key element used in the production of precursor cathode active materials for EV batteries. Nickel-intensive NCM and NCA batteries are considered the dominant technologies. EV batteries containing nickel are light, fast-charging, and offer greater energy storage capacity. Nickel-based batteries are also more suitable for recycling and reuse than other types of battery systems.

Copper was the first metal processed by humans, with smelting from ore beginning approximately six thousand years ago. Today, copper is the third most widely used metal, after iron and aluminium. Copper is often used in alloys, which offer greater strength and resistance than the pure metal.

In electronics, copper plays a crucial role as a conductor — primarily in wires, interconnects, microchips, and circuit boards. Copper is found in nearly all modern electronic devices. For example, a standard laptop contains 700 grams of copper.

Nickel is a key material in the production of aircraft engines and components such as turbines and blades.

Nickel’s benefits:

• High temperature resistance
• Strength and corrosion resistance
• Low density
• Good thermal conductivity
• Resistance to high mechanical loads

Palladium has traditionally been used in the automotive, chemical, and electronics industries. In recent years, its range of applications has expanded to include green energy, water treatment systems, and other priority sectors.

Solutions developed by Nornickel’s Palladium Centre help to:

• improve the efficiency of solar panels — a palladium coating reduces light loss thanks to its high reflectivity
• accelerate hydrogen oxidation and boost the performance of hydrogen fuel cells
• lower the cost of green hydrogen and conductive components in electronic devices

The Company already has over 25 projects in its portfolio and aims to grow this number to more than 100 palladium-based products by 2030.

Platinum is used catheters for cardiac surgery, stents that restore blood flow in blood vessels, and specialised metal coils for treating aneurysms. Highly malleable and an excellent conductor of electricity, platinum is also used to produce thin wires for internal electronic implants such as pacemakers and hearing aids.

Another important application is in neuromodulation devices, where platinum is used in specialised electrodes implanted in the brain or spinal cord.

Glass fibre is a lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant material, which plays a key role in green energy. The use of palladium helps significantly reduce the cost of glass fibre production.

This complex, high-tech process involves equipment made from platinum-group metal alloys. To lower equipment costs, platinum in the alloy can be replaced with palladium. Since palladium has half the density of platinum, less of this valuable metal is needed to achieve the same performance.

Nornickel supplies many of the essential metals used in electronics manufacturing, including palladium, nickel, platinum, silver, copper, and cobalt.

Modern smartphones require an ever-increasing range of metals. In fact, producing a single device involves processing around 34 kilograms of various ores. Aluminium and magnesium alloys, titanium and steel are commonly used for casings. Nickel, cobalt, and lithium power batteries, while gold and copper are essential for microchips and electrical contacts. Metals are also found in touchscreens, speakers, and microphones.