Nickel Production for Energy Storage
Due to its outstanding and unique physical and chemical properties, nickel is a key element in the energy transition: it is essential in sustainable transport, in low-carbon electricity supply, in green hydrogen production and is used as an alloying element in stainless steel needed for demanding environments. The energy transition relies on a raw materials strategy focused on the secure, safe, and sustainable supply of metals such as nickel. This is what the European Commission placed it at the core of its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act). Nickel is for the first time identified as both a critical and a strategic raw material, acknowledging the importance that nickel plays now and in future.
BGM Europe Ltd is forming a leading European mining company for Class 1 (battery grade) nickel for the European battery industry. The cornerstone of the undertaking will be the development of BGM’s mine in Albania as a subsidiary company to BGM Europe Ltd. This acquisition is supported by technology transfer from Finland and Canada for mechanized mining systems and environmentally benign beneficiation of the non-tropical laterite nickel of the mine.
What is a Nickel Zinc Battery
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Increasing adoption of cloud computing services and soaring need for uninterrupted power to ensure efficient operations in banks, financial institutions, and businesses will propel the data center uninterruptible power supply market. Technologies such as autonomous vehicles, IoT, machine learning and artificial intelligence have created more demand for edge computing solutions as end-users clamour for seamless on-demand experiences.​
​iNickel–zinc batteries do not use mercury, lead, cadmium or metal hydrides, all of which can be difficult to recycle. Both nickel and zinc are commonly occurring elements in nature and can be fully recycled. NiZn cells use no flammable active materials or organic electrolytes, and later designs use polymeric separators which reduce the dendrite problem.
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​Properly designed NiZn cells can have very high power density and excellent low-temperature discharging performance. They can be discharged to almost 100% and recharged without problems. NiZn has a value proposition that reduces its footprint and lifecycle costs over lead acid. It also provides a cost improvement over lithium ion and eliminates the safety concerns and complexity of the battery management and controls required to prevent thermal runaway
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What makes our Nickel Different
BGM Europe’s low-carbon footprint (LCF) Nickel Hydroxide incorporates processes that reduce the environmental impact inherant in the mining, transportation, smelting and refining of traditional Nickel. Production of nickel from laterite ores has occurred for over 100 years. However, until now the world nickel supply has been predominantly from sulphide sources. While BGM expects the production of nickel from sulphide ores to remain constant, the company believes the expansion in nickel production capacity will come from processing of laterite ores. A full 70 % of world land-based nickel resources are contained in laterites, but they currently account for only about 40 % of the world nickel production.
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BBGM Europe Ltd. is developing a unique beneficiation method to use bio-leaching to liberate nickel from the ore and produce Pregnant Leach Solution (PLS). Magnesium hydroxide will be employed to convert the crude PLS to purified MHP, suitable to both nickel sulfate and nickel hydroxide production.