Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen many companies stop dealing with the country. While this has resulted in record high petrol prices, it has also impacted the electric vehicle market, due to Russia’s production of the nickel that ends up in lithium-ion battery cells.

Since February 25, the price of nickel has quadrupled, peaking at US$100,000 before the London Metal Exchange paused trading.

Russia only provides 6 per cent of the world’s nickel, however it is a major player in producing battery-grade nickel, with one single Russian company Norilsk responsible for 20 per cent of the world’s supply.

While this will no doubt bump up the prices of EVs in the short-term, manufacturers are already planning ways to move to much more efficient and affordable iron cathode technology.

Elon Musk called nickel supply and prices Tesla’s “biggest concern for scaling” last February, so this current crisis should only speed the move away from nickel-rich lithium-ion battery cells.