Surge in Copper Demand Leads to Rise in Copper Prices

The growing transition to clean energy requires copper to support electrification in different sectors. Copper prices are expected to rise in 2024 due to the increasing use of electricity for the transition to green energy.

Based on the surveys conducted to track the progress of the clean energy transition, the primary focus of the transition will be centered around electricity and its applications in different fields, such as power grids, electric vehicles, and others. Thus, survey reports predict that the copper surplus has been altered due to a rise in copper prices by the end of 2023. It is expected that copper will continue to increase in price throughout 2024 due to its growing demand in the market. The electrification of vehicles to support the transition to green energy requires heavy copper in the market to accelerate electric vehicle production in 2024. According to another survey, copper demand is expected to increase from 25 million metric tonnes in 2022 to 36.6 million by the end of 2031. For the wind turbines, the demand for copper is expected by 2040, as said by the increase in metric tonnes, as noted by the International Energy Agency (IEA). By the end of 2040, electricity grids are expected to increase to 7.5 million metric tonnes in the state's policies scenario and by 10 million metric tonnes in sustainable development. Experts anticipate copper demand to increase by 142 percent by the end of 2050, citing net zero emissions targets around the same time.

Copper is an essential metal for the clean energy transition; however, its availability is a significant cause of concern. Though copper is abundantly available in the environment, it is hard to extract the metal economically. Other geopolitical situations in Russia and countries like Chile and Peru are facing problems related to the production of copper and labor, respectively, in 2024. These countries are among the top producers of copper. Electric vehicles require four times more copper than general applications. Simultaneously, more copper will be needed to expand the electricity networks worldwide shortly. The electricity demand will increase with the growing cause of the transition to clean energy to achieve net zero emissions by the end of 2050.