If you don’t already own copper stocks, now may be a good time to get into the market. That’s one of the conclusions we made after reading a Reuters report on forecasted copper usage for electric vehicles.
A new study by IDTechEx indicates that demand for the natural resource will increase nine-fold by 2027. It should be noted that the International Copper Association commissioned the study.
But copper is already a widley used mineral in vehicles. The article states that internal combustion engines require 23 kg of copper, but that figure is doubling and tripling.
Today’s hybrid electric vehicles need 40 kg. Plug-ins need even more at 69 kg. Meanwhile, Reuters points out, an electric bus can use between 224 kg and 369 kg of copper, depending on the size of the battery.
Electric vehicles use a substantial amount of copper in their batteries and in the windings and copper rotors used in electric motors, writes Reuters. A single car can have up to six kilometers of copper wiring.
But copper demand doesn’t stop there. The study says charging infrastructure as well as roof-mounted solar panels also would require copper.
