By Paul Homewood
Despite the growth in metals supply over the last decade, BloombergNEF’s (BNEF’s) annual Transition Metals Outlook finds that there are still not enough raw materials to meet growing demand. This supply squeeze could slow the adoption of clean energy technologies. In order to meet the demands of a net-zero emissions world, BNEF estimates $2.1 trillion is needed in new mining investments by 2050.
The report indicates that key energy transition metals such as aluminum, copper and lithium could face deficits in primary supply this decade – some as soon as this year. According to BNEF’s Economic Transition Scenario (ETS) – which is driven by the cost competitiveness of technologies and assumes no new policy support – the world could require 3 billion metric tons of metals between 2024 and 2050 to properly build out low-carbon solutions such as electric vehicles, wind turbines and electrolyzers. That number rises to 6 billion tons to reach net zero in 2050.
Kwasi Ampofo, head of metals and mining at BNEF and lead author of the report said, “the prolonged deficit of these metals will lead to higher prices for raw materials, which increases the cost of clean energy technologies. High costs could slow their adoption, and the energy transition at large”.
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
These metals–aluminum, copper, and lithium–are elements. They don’t just go away. The “green” premises are wrong, which makes the predictions suspect. Bloomberg may know finance and politics, but he apparently does not know chemistry. The very idea of “green technology” is a marketing scam by financiers, looking to sell their hare-brained notion that raping the earth to look for untapped deposits of these metals will somehow protect anyone except those whose financial portfolios exceed their common sense.
They would do better to look empty soda pop cans to recycle. There are plenty of those floating around. Collecting them would do less harm to the environment.
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My feelings exactly, Katherine. Well-expressed.
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