Nickel:
Green raw material or
The environmental destroyer?
It's an apocalyptic scene: Where the soil was once covered by dense rainforest, today a blood-colored lake stretches out.
Excavators are always tearing new wounds
In the mountain range, huge craters run through the landscape.
Over the noise of the machines
There is a depressing silence: the burden of the devastated ecosystem.
How did it get so far?
Nickel is one of the key metals for the green transformation, but its mining has serious consequences for people and the environment.
Scroll from Germany to Indonesia
From the Philippines to New Caledonia. Experience how the enormous consumption triggers a catastrophe in the Global South and learn what alternatives there are.
In Germany and the EU
More and more nickel is being used.
Global nickel consumption
2019 was held in Germany 59,041 tonnes of nickel consumed1. Germany is the world's 4th largest nickel consumer and the third largest importer Of nickel metal2. In the EU, Germany is even the Largest nickel consumer3. So far, the metal has been used primarily for everyday batteries and for alloys, especially in steel finishing.
Nickel is also gaining strength as important raw material for electric car batteries of importance.
Over the past 30 years, nickel production has quadrupled
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 1996-2025:
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/nickel-statistics-and-information
Composition of battery types
Source: https://www.flashbattery.tech/de/lithium-batterien-arten-welche-chemie-verwendeten/
Nickel is used in both lithium-ion battery types that have so far established themselves in electromobility: Lithium-Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminium Oxide Batteries (NCA) and Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobaltoxide Batteries (NMC). They differ mainly in the composition of the cathode. NCA batteries are about 80 percent nickel. 75 percent According to experts, this still comes from Russia until recently.4. Most electric cars currently use NMC batteries. Depending on the type, the nickel content varies between approx. 33 (NMC111) and 90 percent (NMC955)5. Currently, the trend is to increase the nickel content and reduce the cobalt content, as cobalt is mined mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and there under catastrophic conditions.6.
Thanks to e-cars in a sustainable future?
By 2030, Germany should 15 million electric cars driving7. As demand increases, so does the need for nickel. The World Bank predicts that by 2035 it will 476 percent Increase in volume compared to 20188. More than one million tonnes of nickel are already produced worldwide every year9.
Much of the nickel came to the EU from Russia for a long time. Since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, enormous shortages of nickel have been threatening, and car companies are desperately looking for alternative sources of supply. And the EU also wants to ensure the supply of critical raw materials.
“Access to raw materials is crucial to the success of our transformation towards a sustainable and digital economy.”
The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force in May 2024. While the law is intended to secure the flow of raw materials to Germany and Europe, it largely ignores the globally unjust and ecologically disastrous consumptions.
Almost 100 percent of raw materials are imported into Germany.
The world's leading producers of nickel ores and concentrates include: Indonesia (26 percent), which Philippines (14%) and New Caledonia (nine percent)10.
The hype around nickel will further increase the pressure on these mining areas.
With 21 million tons, Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world.
Nickel ore mining and processing takes place mainly on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera.
In total, almost 25,000 hectares of rainforest have been deforested in Indonesia for nickel mining.
Since 1984 also for the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), the largest nickel industrial park in the country in Central Sulawesi.
The Indonesian NGO AEER has investigated and documented the negative effects of the nickel industry on the ground.
In Morowali and many other places in Indonesia, the nickel industry is robbing people of their livelihoods.
From power plants in the IMIP, hot wastewater is discharged into the sea. This has increased the coastal water temperature and deteriorated the water quality: Not only the marine ecosystem is threatened by this, but also the livelihood of the fishermen.
The nickel industry also makes people sick.
Again and again, when nickel is mined, heavy metals enter the surrounding waters and accumulate in fish. People who consume this contaminated fish absorb the metals unnoticed.
The coal dust from the many coal-fired power plants that power the nickel industry also makes people sick. Residents reported, for example, shortness of breath and skin diseases.
There are catastrophic working conditions.
In 2023, 36 workers were killed and 47 injured in the nickel processing industry in central Sulawesi. They are exposed to dangers such as extreme heat (1,400 to 1,600 °C), hot metal, fires, explosions and collapsing mine walls.
Recent deaths and suicides have also increased among Chinese guest workers.
In particular, female employees are also affected by sexual harassment. The companies lack toilets, nursing rooms or refrigerators to store breast milk.
More nickel will also be mined in the Philippines in the future. A total of 4.8 million tonnes of nickel reserves are stored in the Southeast Asian country11.
The mining of minerals for the green transformation also has serious social and environmental effects here:
New large-scale mining projects could destroy forests, watersheds and fragile island and marine ecosystems. In the past, mines have also repeatedly affected food production and polluted groundwater.
The nickel industry often exacerbates peace and security problems in the Philippines:
Philippine environmentalists are repeatedly harassed, threatened and even killed: In 2012, there were 298 people. The Philippines is the most dangerous country for environmentalists in Asia.
Women, young people and indigenous communities are also often further marginalised by the nickel industry.
Altai Philippines Mining Corp. (APMC) is currently planning to open a nickel mine on Sibuyan Island.
It threatens the unique nature on Sibuyan, because the island is considered the Galapagos of Asia. It has:
- High biodiversity (700 plant species, 144 tree species, 54 endemic to Sibuyan, 64 bird species, 10 amphibian species, 25 reptile species and 18 mammal species)
- one of the densest forests in the world (1,551 trees per hectare)
Threatened by the mine...
serious ecological interventions: This is how they are Deforestation of forests and the Construction of a dam, which could destroy the natural habitat of marine species, foreseeable consequences. In addition, the project can Natural sediment movement along the coast Disturbing significantly. This would have potentially profound consequences for coastal dynamics, including: Changes in the shape and shape of beaches, Coastal erosion, Coastline instability, flooding, Storm surges and extreme flood events.
And also in New Caledonia, an archipelago in the southern Pacific that belongs to France, the nickel industry leads to the destruction of the environment: A total of 7.1 million tons of nickel reserves are stored in the island state, which belongs to France. There have been protests against the Goro mine since its inception. Because it was built without the consent of the indigenous communities on their territory. Since 2010, five acid leaks have occurred in nearby bays and reefs.
EU metal consumption compared to world population
Against the background of these negative effects of nickel mining, the high metal and energy consumption in the Global North is particularly problematic: Although EU citizens make up only 6% of the world's population, we already use 25-30% of the world's metals and much of the energy.
6 % EU population, 94 % Rest of world population
6% EU
94% The rest of the world
25-30 % EU metal consumption, 70-75 % Rest of world population
25-30% EU
70–75% The rest of the world
Global energy consumption per capita
Access to electricity
3.5 billion people do not have access to electricity – and billions more only have enough electricity to power a single light bulb in their household or charge a mobile phone12.
Passenger car density per 1,000 inhabitants, by country 202313
Switching to renewable energy is not enough
A green transformation to combat the climate crisis seems unproblematic at first. On closer inspection, however, it can be seen that their technologies (e.g. electromobility) contain unchanged and unquestioned assumptions about the global use of resources. Currently, this transformation is pursuing a resource-intensive approach that focuses almost exclusively on replacing fossil fuels with electric vehicles or coal-fired power plants with solar systems without changing the fundamental structure of the economy.
However, a transformation that focuses only on replacing fossil fuels with renewables without addressing undemocratic and globally unjust production and consumption will do little to solve the structural problems underlying the climate crisis.
Environmental and human rights organisations around the world, including in Indonesia, the Philippines and New Caledonia, are therefore advocating alternative solutions:
For example, for Degrowth
The degrowth theory emphasizes that from a certain level of development, additional economic growth does not automatically lead to more prosperity.
In high-income countries, therefore, a planned decline in resource consumption is sought without lowering living standards. This can be achieved by redistributing income, reducing working hours, living wages and expanding public goods. Harmful economic sectors are expected to shrink, while environmentally friendly and socially useful sectors are expected to grow.
And clear guidelines for the mining of minerals for the energy transition
For example, the Philippine environmental organization Alyansa Tigil Mina calls for:
Involvement of local communities: The local communities concerned must be involved in decisions about the use of their resources and consent to the construction of mines or other major projects.
Comprehensive cost-benefit analysis: The actual costs of mining projects must be made transparent, including environmental, social and health impacts.
Consider climate impacts: The climatic impact of mining projects must be recorded and included in the legislation so that mining companies can be held accountable.
No “victim zones”: There must be no zones where intensive mining is justified to meet the need for green technologies. Instead, it is necessary to define ‘no-go zones’.
Strengthening the circular economy: The circular economy needs to be promoted and consumption reduction programmes implemented consistently.
Deep-sea mining moratorium: As long as the deep sea is largely unexplored, a moratorium on deep-sea mining must be imposed.
Fair metal consumption: In the Global North, the consumption of resources for mobility and transport must be greatly reduced.- Higher standards: The core principles of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for a Just Energy Transition (JET) must be implemented under higher social standards.
In addition, the circular economy must be expanded...
And the consumption in Germany will be reduced...14
Around 49 million cars are already registered in Germany. While the number of smaller passenger cars has grown by two percent in the last ten years, that of large vehicle types such as SUVs has increased by 80 percent at the same time.
Share of SUVs in new cars in Germany 2014-2024
Reduction potential in the transport sector15
If 30 percent fewer cars are newly registered every year and an additional 30 percent of new registrations are transferred from the medium and large vehicle segment to the small vehicle segment, then 36.7 million tonnes of important base metals can be saved by 2050.
Reduction potentials in the construction sector
If four percent fewer single-family homes and more multi-family homes are built instead, about 1.4 million tonnes of metals could be saved by 2050. Because a residential unit in an apartment building has a much lower material requirement than one in a single-family house.
Reduction potentials by increasing the useful life16
If smartphones are used in Germany for four years instead of just two, the annual metal requirement can be halved.
So far, around 30 million tonnes of resources have been wasted in the EU because they are disposed of at an early stage. This creates 260 million tonnes of unnecessary greenhouse gases.
two years
vier Jahre33.534
16.767
Reduction potential through recycling
Scrap from renewable energy technologies is expected to increase 30 times over the next few years. It is therefore of great importance to recover the metals contained.
However, as there is still little experience in recycling in the EU, investment is needed in research and the expansion of recycling facilities.
conclusion
The negative social and environmental impacts of the nickel industry in Indonesia, the Philippines and New Caledonia are profound. Without a fundamental change in the use of resources, a rethinking of consumption and consumption habits as well as the implementation of concrete measures, the current approaches to combating the climate crisis will not be sufficient. The green transformation must be globally just, environmentally sustainable and attuned to planetary boundaries. Only in this way can it make a real contribution to a good future for all.
The responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors.
