List of Uses for Nickel

Alloys and Stainless Steel

• The largest amount of nickel consumed goes into the production of stainless steel. Stainless steel does not corrode due to the nickel contained in the alloy. According to the Nickel Institute, stainless steel production requires two-thirds of the nickel industry's output. Stainless steel is an important alloy because it dramatically reduces maintenance and replacement costs due to its durability. Nickel is also inserted into thousands of other alloys with many highly specialized uses.

Catalyst

• Nickel is used as a catalyst in some chemical reactions. The production of hydrogenated vegetable oil requires a nickel catalyst to complete the process. Nickel helps transform the oil to a product that will last longer before spoiling. The nickel is then filtered out so a pure oil is delivered to consumers. Researchers are investigating the possible use of nickel in a reaction to create power in hydrogen fuel cells.

Plating

• Nickel is also used in an electroplating process to apply a layer of nickel to other metals or plastics. Nickel plating makes an object perfectly smooth so it works well in machined applications. Nickel is also used as part of the chroming process, providing decorative metals a bright and shiny appearance.

Other applications

• No mention of nickel would be complete without mentioning the coin that takes its name from the metal. An actual nickel coin is made from 25 percent nickel, the other part of the coin being copper. Nickel is also used in the hard drives of computers. This has been a growing application due to the booming computer industry. It is possible this use will drop off as solid state hard drives become more common.