work materials_science According to S&P Global,
copper—the “metal of electrification”—is essential to all energy transition plans. But the potential supply-demand gap is expected to be very large as the transition proceeds. Substitution and recycling will not be enough to meet the demands of electric vehicles (EVs), power infrastructure, and renewable generation. Unless massive new supply comes online in a timely way, the goal of Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 will be short-circuited and remain out of reach.
They go on:
Copper demand is projected to grow from 25 million metric tons (MMt) today to about 50 MMt by 2035, a record-high level that will be sustained and continue to grow to 53 MMt by 2050. Power and automotive applications will have to be deployed at scale by 2035 in order to meet the 2050 net-zero targets
In particular, S&P finds that roughly 1/3-1/2 of the growth in global copper demand will be for Electric Transmission and Electric distribution, and Electric vehicles.
Capacity utilization of copper mines and recycling rates for copper will need to increase in order to keep meeting global demand.
References
S&P Global, The-Future-of-Copper_Full-Report_14July2022 https://cdn.ihsmarkit.com/www/pdf/0722/The-Future-of-Copper_Full-Report_14July2022.pdf