Copper is a strategic metal that underpins the global clean energy transition, and demand for the metal is set to double, driven by the expansion of renewable power generation.
Copper is listed as a strategic metal for Australia and appears on critical mineral lists for other countries, including the U.S., Canada and Japan.
Strategic metals are metals that are essential to a country’s economy, security and technological advancement.
Copper is also a linchpin for sustainable development and the global energy transition, according to Dr Vinicius Louro, who leads sustainability in mining and mineral resources at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Institute (CSIRO).
Copper is an exceptional electrical and thermal conductor that makes it indispensable for many technologies. It can often be found in laptops and mobile phones as an information transmitter, but the metal is also used extensively in power grids, electric vehicles and solar panels.
Renewable energy actually uses up to five times more copper than conventional systems.
The International Energy Agency projects that copper demand for clean energy will nearly double by 2050. Copper is also useful in meeting sustainability standards, as copper is one of the most recyclable metals on the planet.
“Nearly one-third of global copper demand is met through recycling. This recyclability is central to copper’s contribution to sustainability and the circular economy, minimising the need for new mining and lowering the environmental footprint of copper production,” Lauro said.
As countries embark on their decarbonisation journeys, copper will be at the heart of this transformation due to its superior conduction properties. As demand for clean energy technologies grows, securing supplies of strategic metals like copper will be crucial.