Is There Enough Metal for Energy Transition?

Metals needed by green technology to replace fossil fuels

On Twitter, @BrianGitt had shared the below comments:^[1]

The world doesn’t have enough mines operating or planned to replace fossil fuels with wind turbines, solar panels, & battery tech. Opening a new mine takes 16 years on average according to @IEA.

Based on a study from S&P Global, it also concludes that:^[3]

Copper demand will double by 2035 and continue to grow thereafter. On the supply side, it finds how challenging that will be, whether on the basis of current trends or with an unprecedented acceleration of supply from mining and recycling.

Finally, according to researcher Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world will need:^[5]

Nearly 60 new lithium mines and plants to feed the growing demand for the shift away from fossil fuels.

References

1. Is There Enough Metal to Replace Oil?
2. The problem with lithium is that it’s extremely difficult to recover, American Lithium CEO says
3. The Future of Copper Will the looming supply gap short-circuit the energy transition? (S&P Global)
4. World Oil Supply Set To Decline In Coming Decade?
5. Exxon in Talks With Tesla, Ford, VW on Supplying Lithium