At the beginning of the year, nickel’s place within green metals was as a key competitor in the race for mineral dominance of energy storage. Now, it sits at the intersection of Europe’s push for decarbonisation and energy independence. At the heart of Europe’s strategy lies its desire to rapidly electrify its transportation sector - a source of 20% of its emissions and c.2mb/d of Russian oil imports. With Europe’s domestic EV sector already favouring nickel-based batteries, nickel is set to benefit the most from politically motivated demand accelerating already rapid growth in nickel battery use.