Stellantis and Finnish mining company Terrafame have entered into a supply agreement for nickel sulfate to be used in electric car batteries. Beginning in 2025, Terrafame will provide Stellantis with the nickel sulfate for a five-year period, though the exact quantity has not been announced.
Terrafame, which already supplies nickel to Renault, operates one of the largest battery chemistry plants for EVs in Finland and boasts a fully integrated production process from its own mine to refining battery-grade materials, allowing for traceable production and minimal CO2 emissions.
“Cooperation with industry leaders such as Stellantis fortifies the position of Terrafame as an important partner of battery chemicals for the European automotive industry,” said Terrafame CEO Joni Lukkaroinen. “In these challenging times, there clearly is a strong demand for sustainably and transparently produced battery chemicals that are made in Europe, for Europe. We are proud to be doing our part in decarbonising European mobility and increasing the efficiencies of the European automotive industry.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting deterioration of global relations with Russia and many countries has not only affected the fossil fuel industry. In 2021, Russia was responsible for supplying over 10% of the world’s nickel. The agreement in Finland may or may not replace the options that Stellantis secured for nickel in Australia. In October 2022, Stellantis signed a non-binding agreement with GME Resources for the purchase of nickel and cobalt sulfate from the NiWest project in Western Australia.
“This agreement is part of the key raw material sourcing to fit with our electrified vehicle battery pack needs,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “We continue to build a new global value chain with Class A partners to support our global strategy and propel our commitment to be the industry champion in climate change mitigation, becoming carbon net zero by 2038, ahead of our competition.”
Under Tavares’ leadership, Stellantis has created the “Dare Forward 2030” strategy with a goal for all passenger car sales in Europe to be fully electric by 2030. In the US, the company aims for 50% of passenger cars and light commercial vehicle sales (including pickups) to be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by that same year.
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