EVs and wind turbines face critical minerals supply crunch

Demand is soaring for copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth metals

Supplies of critical minerals essential for key clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines need to pick up sharply over the coming decades to meet the world’s climate goals. Potential supply crunches for copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earths create energy security hazards for governments, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

Demand outlooks and supply vulnerabilities vary widely by mineral, but the energy sector’s overall needs for minerals and metals could increase by as much as six times by 2040, depending on how rapidly governments act to reduce emissions.

Mineral demand for use in EVs and battery storage will grow at least thirty times to 2040 in the IEA’s sustainable development scenario. Lithium sees the fastest growth, with demand growing by over 40 times by 2040, followed by graphite, cobalt and nickel (around 20-25 times). The expansion of electricity networks means that copper…