The Impact of New Energy Development on Copper Demand

The development of new energy has significantly driven the growth of copper demand, particularly in fields such as electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and wind power. With the global energy transition and the advancement of carbon neutrality goals, copper, as a key conductive material, is increasingly being applied in these emerging sectors.

New Energy Vehicles: The demand for copper in new energy vehicles is primarily concentrated in components such as batteries, motors, and charging stations. Each new energy vehicle uses approximately 80-100 kilograms of copper, which is 3-4 times that of traditional gasoline vehicles. It is expected that by 2030, the global demand for copper in new energy vehicles will reach 7.7 million tons, accounting for 25% of global refined copper demand. As the largest market for new energy vehicles, China's demand for copper is particularly significant, with expectations that by 2025, the demand for copper in Chinese new energy vehicles will exceed 75% of the global total.

Photovoltaic Industry: In photovoltaic systems, copper is mainly used in components such as wires, cables, inverters, and transformers. As the installed capacity of photovoltaics continues to grow, the demand for copper in this sector is also rapidly increasing. It is projected that by 2025, the copper demand for photovoltaics will rise from 530,000 tons in 2021 to 1.32 million tons.

Wind Power Industry: In wind power equipment, copper is used in key components such as generators, transformers, and tower cables. The rapid growth of wind power installations has also boosted copper demand, with an expected increase of about 500,000 tons of copper demand for wind power by 2025.

Energy Storage Technology: With the development of energy storage technologies, such as lithium battery storage systems, the demand for copper is also on the rise. Lithium battery copper foil has become the largest incremental product in new energy copper consumption, and it is expected that by 2030, lithium battery copper foil will account for about 60% of total copper foil demand.

Utilization of Recycled Copper: Due to the rapid growth of copper demand in the new energy sector, the utilization of recycled copper has become an important means to alleviate the pressure on primary copper resources. It is projected that by 2030, recycled copper will account for 17.5% of copper consumption.

Market Supply and Demand Changes: The rapid development of the new energy industry has led to a gradually emerging supply-demand gap in global refined copper. It is expected that from 2023 to 2025, the global refined copper supply-demand gap will be 50,000 tons, 20,000 tons, and -140,000 tons, respectively. Additionally, due to the slowing growth of copper mine supply, the world may face a copper shortage in the coming years.