Brazil Looking for Ways to Benefit from Niobium Reserves
By the EMIS Insights Editorial Team
Out of the total of over 17mn tonnes of global niobium reserves, Brazil is home to 16mn and also accounts for 90% of the global output of the metal, United States Geological Survey (USGS) data showed. The global market for niobium is forecast to reach USD 1.91bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3.6% in 2024-2030, according to a Valuates Reports report. While the infrastructure and automotive sectors will continue to be the heavyweight users of niobium, new opportunities, such as EV batteries for heavy duty vehicles, are also being considered.
Niobium, a light gray crystalline metal included on the 2022 USGS’s Critical Minerals List, is used primarily for improving the strength, corrosion resistance, and temperature resistance of steel and can be found virtually everywhere from car bodies, gas pipelines, and atomic reactors to specialty superconducting magnets such as those used in MRI scanners.
In the future, the steady demand for niobium will be driven above all by the infrastructure and automotive sectors and their need for high strength low-alloy steel as well as by the electronics, aerospace and energy sectors.
As the global processes of urbanization and infrastructure development are speeding up, demand for steel alloys is expected to remain strong. In the vehicle manufacturing industry, steel alloys containing niobium are very popular, as they lighten vehicles without compromising their structural integrity.
The aircraft industry is another heavy user of niobium alloys, which are used for engines, airframes and structural parts. Demand for niobium from this sector is expected to increase in the future.
In the energy generation and storage technologies industries, niobium plays a vital role as it is used in the superalloys in nuclear reactors and gas turbines. The growing global demand for energy and the ongoing green transition provide a significant boost to investments in energy infrastructure, thus raising the sector’s niobium demand too.
Niobium alloys powder is also used in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, allowing for the creation of complex geometries and customized components.
The growing importance of environmental responsibility and sustainability is another vital driver of demand for strong, lightweight, and recyclable materials like niobium.
Niobium can be used to replace graphite in the anode end of a battery thus improving charging times and lowering the risk of overheating. Although niobium is more expensive than graphite, the longer range and the longer battery life make up for a better final cost of ownership.
Small amounts of niobium can also reduce the need for cobalt in the positive end of nickel-based batteries. Since cobalt mining in Africa has been entangled with human right abuse issues, some electric car producers are looking for ways to lessen the use of cobalt, thus opening another prospective market opportunity.
The sector is dominated by Brazilian firm Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao (CBMM), which holds over 70% of the niobium reserves and over 75% of the supply, according to information from its minority shareholder CITIC Metal.
CBMM is planning to allocate BRL 270mn for investments in technology development in 2024, of which BRL 80mn will be poured in the battery materials and technology division, BNAmericas reported.
The firm has partnered with Toshiba Corporation and Sojitz Corporation and in end-June 2024 presented a next generation lithium-ion battery that uses niobium titanium oxide (NTO) in the anode. The companies unveiled a prototype electric bus using the new battery, which has an ultra-fast charge time of around 10 minutes and delivers high energy density. The electric bus was developed by Volkswagen Truck & Bus, Brazil. The partner companies aim to launch the next-generation lithium-ion battery with NTO anode on the global market in the spring of 2025.
CBMM will open this year a plant that with an output capacity of 3,000 tonnes of niobium oxide for uses including EV batteries, Bloomberg reported in May 2024.
Highly versatile and growingly important in many modern industries, niobium’s properties make it an important commodity, especially with a view to the pressing need for improved performance and sustainability against the backdrop of technological advancement. As its leading producer, it is up to Brazil to take advantage of the opportunities that this will create in the future.