Nickel
Stainless steel's key ingredient and a high-energy battery cathode metal. Indonesia now produces roughly two-thirds of the world's mine supply.
Stainless steel for cooling loops and racks, nickel-based superalloys in turbines, and nickel-rich battery chemistries for backup storage.
IEA sees only a slight supply gap in its base case, but virtually all recent supply growth has come from one country (Indonesia).
Where it's produced
Share of 2025 world mine production (metric tons). Source: USGS MCS 2026.
Where the reserves are
Share of known economic reserves (metric tons). World total: 140M t. ≈ 36 years at 2025 output.
Who calls it critical
Membership on each government list. “Strategic” marks a higher tier where the list has one; “group” means included as part of a group such as rare earths or PGMs.
Nickel: key questions
- Where is nickel mined or produced?
- According to USGS 2025 data, the largest producers are Indonesia (67%), Philippines (6.9%) and Russia (5.1%) of world mine production. China accounts for about 3%.
- Is nickel a critical mineral?
- Nickel appears on 10 of the 10 official lists we track (United States, United States (DOE), European Union, United Kingdom, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Canada).
- Is nickel in short supply?
- Our supply status: Watch. IEA sees only a slight supply gap in its base case, but virtually all recent supply growth has come from one country (Indonesia).
- Why does nickel matter for AI infrastructure?
- Stainless steel for cooling loops and racks, nickel-based superalloys in turbines, and nickel-rich battery chemistries for backup storage.
Related minerals
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Lithium
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