Widespread adoption of power electronics devices in electric vehicles and renewable energy sources to increase copper demand
New research, commissioned by ICA, explores opportunities for copper within power electronics – solid-state electronic devices which control and convert electrical power.
The study, conducted by IDTechEX found that by 2030, renewable energy and electric car power electronics devices-including inverters, onboard chargers and DC converters-will require around 20 kilotonnes of copper per year.
“Shifts from internal combustion-engines to electric vehicles and from fossil fuels to renewables as part of new climate goals will prove advantageous for copper. Over the next two decades, electric cars, wind and solar farms will all need inverters, providing a new source of growth for the copper industry,” says Luke Gear, Senior Technology Analyst at IDTechEx.
Growth in copper demand follows the trajectory of the global car market, which IDTechEx predicts will expand from roughly 4 percent of the global auto market today to over 80 percent by 2040. This will result in 45 kilotonnes of copper required per year in 2040 for electric car inverters. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2040 an accumulated 425 kilotonnes of copper will be required for the main inverters of plug-in electric cars.
