Massachusetts metals refining company Nth Cycle is going to start producing mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a nickel product used in EV battery production, in the US for the first time – here’s why that matters.
In order for US-manufactured electric vehicles to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act’s $7,500 tax credit, a proportion of the EV’s battery minerals must be extracted or processed in either the US or its free-trade partner countries.
Demand for MHP has skyrocketed as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. But most MHP has traditionally been produced in Indonesia, which isn’t a US free trade partner, so that supply is IRA ineligible.
Further, MHP has traditionally been produced in Indonesia with low concentrations of the essential elements nickel and cobalt – 30-40% nickel and only 1-10% cobalt – and…