Vale has become a direct supplier of nickel metal to Tesla. Tesla has been seeking to produce batteries independently. Vale also confirmed that it has signed a long-term supply contract with Tesla to supply 1 grade nickel materials. Vale became a direct supplier of Tesla nickel metal.
Vale became a direct supplier of Tesla 1 nickel metal on May 7. On Friday, local time, American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla released its annual report on global influence. Tesla confirmed that it signed a supply agreement with mining giant Vale SA to buy metals such as nickel. The report also provides detailed data on the ethnic composition of Tesla employees in the United States.
Tesla's report released on Friday lists the company's relationship with all metal suppliers. With the global automobile industry's demand for electric vehicle batteries exceeding the market supply, the relationship between major automobile manufacturers and metal suppliers has attracted more attention. Unlike most other major automakers, Tesla buys raw materials directly from metal manufacturers and produces its own batteries.
Tesla listed Vale as a direct supplier of nickel metal for batteries. In March this year, it was reported that the company bought nickel from a comprehensive mine and refinery in Canada. The report released on Friday also details Tesla's agreements with lithium mining giants Albemarle, Livent and Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group on lithium supply.
With the continuous expansion of the company's battery supply chain, Tesla expects that the proportion of direct procurement and mining of metals will continue to grow. According to reports, Tesla has reached agreements with nine mining and chemical companies to supply the company with more than 95% lithium, more than half cobalt and more than one-third nickel.
This 144 page annual impact report also covers Tesla's environmental impact, supply chain status, material recycling and the company's efforts in diversification and inclusion.
Tesla confirmed that the medical insurance policy provided by the company covers the travel and accommodation expenses of employees when they seek medical treatment outside the state.
Tesla also disclosed the racial composition data of American employees for the first time according to the documents submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission every year. However, unlike competitors such as General Motors and Ford Motor Company, Tesla only listed the proportion of employees of different races in detail, not the original data. Diversification experts say that depending on the way jobs are classified, this practice may cover up the shortcomings of the company in diversity and inclusiveness.
Tesla deliberately selected several companies for comparison, claiming that its racial representation is better than that of the technology and automobile industries. According to the report, at the end of 20021,the number of Hispanic employees in Tesla was much higher than that in Ford and GM, but its advantages in professional technology and executive positions were much smaller. On the other hand, Tesla has fewer black employees than Ford and GM.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides more comprehensive industry data every year, which may give people a more comprehensive understanding of Tesla's diversified and inclusive data, but at present, the agency has not provided the data of 202 1.
Tesla said that the number of employees worldwide increased by 40% in 20021year. Elon Musk, CEO of the company, recently tweeted that the company has more than 65,438+065,438+00,000 "direct jobs" around the world.
Vale became a direct supplier of nickel metal to Tesla. According to foreign media reports, Tesla confirmed in an annual report on the company's global influence that it has reached a nickel metal supply agreement with mining giant Vale SA.
Tesla has listed Vale as a direct supplier of nickel for its batteries and will purchase nickel materials from a comprehensive mine and refinery in Canada.
Vale also confirmed that it has signed a long-term supply contract with Tesla to supply 1 grade nickel materials. Deshnee Naidoo, executive vice president of Vale, added: "We are very happy that Tesla has become our customer. Our partnership reflects the same commitment to sustainable development, indicating that we are the preferred supplier of low-carbon and high-purity nickel products necessary for long-life batteries. "
With the shortage of electric vehicle batteries in the automobile industry, the suppliers of battery metal materials have attracted more and more attention. In order to support the rapid development of electric vehicle industry, the procurement of battery materials is in competition. Some insiders have been warning that there will be a serious shortage of some key metal materials.
Generally speaking, manufacturers of mineral materials deal with battery manufacturers, not automobile manufacturers, but now automobile manufacturers are beginning to establish direct relations with metal miners to obtain long-term contracts to ensure the supply of batteries in the next few years. Tesla has been seeking to produce batteries independently, and it is also one of the first car companies to establish direct relations with miners.
In addition to Vale, Tesla has also reached agreements with manufacturers such as Yabao Road, Livent and Sichuan Yahua on lithium supply. With the continuous expansion of Tesla's battery supply chain, it is expected that the proportion of direct procurement of minerals by the company will increase. It is reported that the company has reached agreements with more than a dozen mining and chemical companies to supply lithium, cobalt and nickel materials.
Vale became a direct supplier of nickel metal to Tesla. Last Friday, Vale S.A, a Brazilian miner, confirmed that it had signed a long-term agreement with Tesla to supply it with nickel from Canadian mines in Vale, which produced 76,000 tons of nickel last year. Vale did not provide financial details of the transaction, nor did it announce the terms of the "long-term" agreement.
Vale said in a securities document that the agreement involves providing low-carbon grade 1 nickel to Tesla, which is in line with its strategy of increasing investment in the electric vehicle industry. Vale said that the company's goal is to use 30% to 40% of the sales of 1 grade nickel for fast-growing industries. At present, the company only sells 5% products to the electric vehicle market.
The cooperation between Vale and Tesla consolidated its "market leading position as the largest producer of finished nickel in North America". Deshnee Naidoo, executive vice president of the company's basic metals division, said, "We are very happy that Tesla, the leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has become our customer. This agreement reflects Tesla's commitment to sustainable development and clearly affirms that we are the preferred supplier of low-carbon and high-purity nickel products necessary for long-life batteries. "
Although Vale is famous for its huge iron ore business, it also has a large department producing industrial metals, mainly nickel and other clean energy metals, such as copper and cobalt. Its business includes Sudbury, one of the largest comprehensive mine sites in the world, and Thompson mine in Manitoba, which contains 5 million tons of undeveloped nickel, and Vale hopes to develop it through new processing technology.
With electric vehicles becoming the mainstream, in order to improve battery capacity and reduce battery cost, automobile manufacturers have become a major trend, because nickel can play a role in improving energy density in batteries, that is, the higher the proportion of nickel in batteries, the higher the battery capacity, which is reflected in the higher endurance of new energy vehicles. Goldman Sachs recently said in a report that by 2030, it is expected that the nickel demand of automobile manufacturers will increase from176,000 tons in 202 1 year to10.4 million tons.
Driven by strong demand from the automobile industry, the price of nickel has increased by nearly 50% this year to $30,000 per ton. In March this year, it briefly touched the high price of $654.38+million per ton.
As the leader of electric vehicles, Tesla's strategy ahead of most peers is that it has been focusing on how to ensure the stability of its supply chain for many years, which of course includes a stable nickel supply. Since 202 1, Tesla has been searching for enough nickel all over the world and has reached purchase agreements with many nickel suppliers. In addition, the company is constantly promoting the progress of raw material processing and battery manufacturing methods.
Tesla said in June 5438+10 that it would purchase 75,000 tons of nickel concentrate from a project developed by Toronto-listed company Talon Metals. Previously, Tesla reached an agreement with BHP Billiton, the world's largest integrated mining company, to purchase materials from its business in Australia. Tesla also agreed to buy nickel from a mine in New Caledonia, which is partly owned by commodity trader Tok.
In this regard, as early as two years ago, Tesla CEO Musk had already thought about the plan. In the 2020 earnings conference call, Musk urged nickel producers to say, "Please mine more nickel. If you mine nickel efficiently in an environmentally sensitive way, Tesla will give you a long-term huge contract. "
Gene Munster of investment company Loup Ventures said: "Tesla's adequate preparation for nickel supply will become a hidden competitive advantage in the future, and the company will continue to stay one step ahead of its competitors." Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, pointed out earlier that Tesla is in a unique position in the supply chain. More precisely, Tesla is 5 to 10 years ahead of other competitors in dealing with these and other problems.