As the global adoption of electric mobility accelerates and more charging stations are deployed across the world, demand for copper will increase substantially over the next decade.

A report by research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie states that more than 20-million electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be deployed globally by 2030, consuming more than 250% more copper than in 2019.

To meet these targets, the group says more private and public investment is required.

Copper is used throughout an EV, but research analyst Henry Salisbury notes that the need for copper becomes even greater when charging stations and supporting electrical grid infrastructure are also considered.

"As it stands, range anxiety – worrying that a battery will run out of power mid-journey – is a key psychological barrier standing in the way of more widespread EV adoption. One way to address this is to roll out more charging infrastructure. As this happens, more connections to the electrical grid will be required and more copper will be needed as the network expands,” he says.

By 2040, Wood Mackenzie predicts that passenger EVs will consume more than 3.7-million tonnes a year of copper. In comparison, passenger internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will need just over one-million tonnes a year. In terms of cumulative demand, between now and 2040, passenger EVs will consume 35.4-million tonnes of copper, or about five-million tonnes more than is required to meet current passenger ICE demand.

“EVs can use up to three-and-a-half times as much copper when compared to an ICE passenger car. The amount goes up as the size of the vehicle increases. For example, a fully electric bus uses between 11 and 16 times more copper than an ICE passenger vehicle - depending on the size of the battery and the actual bus.”

Wood Mackenzie notes that copper has no real alternative, although aluminium, a lighter and almost three-times-cheaper metal, is seen as the closest alternative.

Mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland, the co-chairperson of Ivanhoe Mines, which is investing $1.1-billion in a large copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also believes that copper is the king of the so-called 'green' metals.

“When it comes to solving the world’s most pressing environmental problems, almost every single solution drives you to copper – solar power, wind power and pure electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles."