A CRITICAL minerals agreement with the US will help cut dependence on the China and Indonesia export trade and allow the Philippines to focus on the type of nickel products used in batteries, Nickel Asia Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Antonio G. Zamora said.
At the Pilipinas Conference 2024 last week, Mr. Zamora said China, the biggest stainless steel producer, and Indonesia, a major producer, were his company’s main ore buyers.
“Most of the stainless steel is produced and consumed in China and Indonesia — what we call class two nickel,” Mr. Zamora told a panel discussion.
“To reduce our dependence on China, I would focus on class one nickel, which is the battery type of nickel,” he added.
To achieve this, he said that the Philippines will need to seal a critical minerals agreement with the US to allow the latter to better compete with China in the battery market.
“If we do that and we partner with, for example, a Japanese company to invest in the plant, and we also partner with battery and electric vehicle (EV) makers; in exchange for that technology and capital, they get off take from our nickel,” he added.
Part of the attraction is the ability “to produce at a higher ESG (environmental, social and governance) standard,” he said, adding that any price disadvantages could be offset by incentives offered by the US government.
“The US government incentivizes consumers to buy EVs, and they offer tax credits,” he said.
He said the Philippines needs to pursue deals attractive to potential investors.
“It will require cooperation among various parties. We need the critical minerals agreement with the US so that we can supply to the US and enjoy subsidies,” he added.
Earlier this year, the Department of Trade and Industry said the Philippines proposed to join Japan and the US in their own critical minerals agreement.
The US and Japan signed their deal March 28, 2023 to shore up their critical minerals supply chains and promote the adoption of EV battery technology. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
