Australia’s Wyloo Metals, owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, has unveiled a partnership with digital metals platform Metalshub to create a price index for low-carbon nickel concentrate and nickel sulphate. The collaboration aims to establish a global benchmark for pricing sustainably produced nickel products and enhance transparency around low-carbon nickel.

Wyloo CEO Luca Giacovazzi said the initiative would not only set new standards for so-called green nickel, but also empower nickel users to make environmentally conscious choices.

“The Metalshub platform will enable nickel producers to provide provenance, carbon footprint and ESG information to customers, in an auditable form, leading to qualification under key market regulations such as the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act or the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Battery Regulation,” he said in a statement.

“If we want car manufacturers to effectively manage their Scope 3 emissions, and to empower consumers to choose electric vehicles that are truly good for the environment, the industry must adopt transparent emission reporting across the supply chain.”

Wyloo plans to use Metalshub for the sale of its low-carbon nickel and nickel concentrate products following a restart of its Kambalda, Western Australia nickel operations.

Metalshub cofounder and MD Sebastian Kreft noted that this transparency would allow nickel producers to market their green nickel at a premium.

“Nickel has become an important focus of the energy transition as the world moves away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and the electrification of transport. Today, most nickel is used for producing stainless steel, but the fastest growing application is lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles,” he said.

“But nickel mining and processing presents significant ESG concerns relating to greenhouse-gas emissions, air, soil and water pollution, the destruction of ecosystems, indigenous rights, energy use and working conditions.

“Our platform will enable mining companies and manufacturers buying metals to demonstrate that they are addressing these concerns and meeting the needs of the green energy transition in an ethical and sustainable way. It is also another milestone on our joint journey together with the LME to provide producers and consumers access to our software platform to discover ‘green’ nickel premiums.”

Concerns have mounted over Indonesia flooding the nickel market with low-cost supply. Earlier this year, Forrest highlighted these challenges, emphasising that “clean nickel” would command a premium, and criticised companies relying on cheaper, high-emission nickel from Indonesia, which undermines the global push for sustainable and ethically sourced battery materials.