Surging nickel demand spurs charge to greater environmental controls, says NTree Environmental sustainability will be the key issue when it comes to sourcing metals in the future, and blockchain will play a key role in providing proof of origin Hopes that the forecast worldwide nickel shortage driven by the expansion of electric vehicle use may have been addressed by new supply deals could run into environmental issues as attention starts to focus on the sourcing sustainability of vehicle components, investment group NTree International says. Growing use of electric vehicles is leading to concerns that the market may face a deficit in the order of 60,000 tonnes a year of nickel until at least 2027. Overall nickel demand is expected to surge from 128,000 tonnes in 2019 to 1.23mln tonnes by 2040.