A transition metal used primarily in stainless steel and also in specialty alloys and nickel-bearing NMC and NCA battery cathodes. LFP contains no nickel, so battery exposure varies with the chemistry mix. Nickel products include ores, concentrates, ferronickel or NPI, intermediates and refined metal; Class 1 and battery grade are not interchangeable labels.

High-purity refined nickel is commonly called Class 1 nickel. For delivery under the LME Nickel contract, material must contain at least 99.8% nickel and also meet the LME's approved brand, shape, form and other contract requirements. Purity by itself does not make every nickel product LME-deliverable.

Nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) is a widely used lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry favored for its high energy density and balanced performance. NMC variants include NMC 532, 622, and 811, with higher nickel ratios delivering greater energy density at the cost of thermal stability.

How an ETF obtains its exposure. Equity ETFs hold shares in mining, utility, technology or equipment companies. Other funds use futures contracts, total-return swaps, physically-backed commodity trusts, or a mix of securities and derivatives. A fund described as offering 'physical' exposure may track a commodity-owning trust rather than holding the metal directly.

The annual fee an ETF charges to cover stated operating costs such as management and administration, expressed as a percentage of assets. Depending on the source it may be quoted gross or net of contractual fee waivers. It does not capture every cost of owning a fund: brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, any premium or discount to NAV, and — for futures funds — roll effects are all separate. All else equal, a lower expense ratio means less annual fee drag on returns.

The net value of the assets an ETF holds. AUM indicates fund scale, but it does not by itself determine liquidity or trading costs; bid-ask spreads, trading volume, market makers and the liquidity of underlying holdings also matter. AUM changes with market prices and fund inflows or outflows.

Nickel ETFs are exchange-traded funds that provide exposure to the nickel market, typically by investing in companies involved in nickel mining, exploration, development, or production. They offer investors a way to gain nickel exposure without buying individual mining stocks or physical nickel.

As of August 2026, there is one US-listed ETF focused specifically on nickel — the Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (NIKL). Sprott classified 87.0% of NIKL as nickel equities as of 31 July 2026. Nickel is otherwise held as one metal among several inside broader funds: the Amplify Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (BATT) carried a 12.3% nickel allocation as of 30 June 2026, and the Sprott Energy Transition Materials ETF (SETM) 2.4% as of 31 July 2026.

Nickel is used in high-energy-density NMC and NCA cathodes in many electric vehicles. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) contains no nickel and dominates stationary-storage installations, so battery nickel exposure depends on the chemistry mix. Stainless steel remains nickel's largest end use. A nickel ETF should therefore be assessed through its actual holdings, index rules and nickel classification rather than a general battery-demand claim.

NIKL tracks the Nasdaq Sprott Nickel Miners Index. Constituents must be classified by Sprott as nickel producers, developers or explorers, and must carry an intensity score of at least 25% — the share of revenue attributable to nickel. Companies without revenue, such as junior explorers, are assigned an intensity score of 50%. The index has no fixed constituent count: every security meeting the eligibility criteria at the semi-annual reconstitution is included. The fund held 26 issuers as of 31 July 2026.

The Sprott Nickel Miners ETF (NIKL) has a net expense ratio of 0.75%. That is equivalent to $7.50 a year per $1,000 of assets if the fee rate and asset value remain unchanged. It does not include brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads or any premium or discount to net asset value.