n/MW) or a nuclear power plant (0.7 ton/MW).
The changing energy system will also require more investments in the transmission and distribution infrastructure, leading to greater use of copper in grids, transformers, power electronics, and even possible cross-border transmission lines.
Then there’s the matter of how this renewable energy will be used in the decades to come. A typical medium-sized electric vehicle, for example, contains around 83 kg of copper, compared to around 23 kg of copper in a comparable car powered by an internal combustion engine.
The important role of energy efficiency in the energy transition will also have an impact on copper use. The increasing use of heat pumps and industrial electric heat will require more copper, as will near-zero energy buildings, building automation systems, demand response, and energy storage solutions.
Combining all these applications, it is estimated that by 2050, the EU additional cumulative demand will revolve around 25 million tons of copper. While the absolute amount is relevant, it is spread over 3 decades, meaning an average annual increase of about 15% over current EU demand levels.
How much copper is available now — and in the future?
Any figures pointing to the amount of copper available in the world are based on the concept of reserves and resources:
- Copper reserves are deposits that have been discovered, evaluated and assessed to be profitable; they amount to 720 million tonnes 
- Copper resources are far larger because they include the already discovered reserves, plus predicted unexploited deposits based on geological surveys. They are estimated to exceed 5,000 million tonnes .
In addition, current and future exploration opportunities will increase both reserves and resources. For example, the total resources above do not include the vast copper deposits found in deep-sea nodules and submarine massive sulphides.
In other words, there would seem to be adequate copper resources available to cover the increased usage of copper due to the energy transition.
However, these figures don’t give the total picture, because there is a key property of copper that also has to be taken into consideration, and which is likely to play a significant role in the energy transition …
Copper is highly recyclable
We are all used to the concept that metals can be recycled, but the trump card of copper is that it is one of the few materials that can be recycled repeatedly without loss of performance. There is also no difference in the quality of recycled copper (secondary production) and mined copper (primary production). Depending on market conditions, lower-grade coppers can even be upcycled to electrical conductivity applications, if entered back early enough in the production process.
The recycling of copper is also energy efficient - bulk copper applications require 85% less energy than primary production. The infrastructure is well in place too; during the last decade about half of the EU’s annual copper use came from recycled sources (and is increasing).
It is estimated that two-thirds of the 550 million tonnes of copper produced since 1900 are still in productive use . This enormous stock of copper, contained in its diverse range of end uses, is equivalent to around 30 years of mining production.
Copper is not cobalt or indium …
… nor is it tantalum, niobium or rare earths. These and up to 27 other elements have been denoted by the European Commission as critical raw materials, defined as metals whose availability is essential for high-technology, green or defence applications, but which are vulnerable to politically or economically driven fluctuations in supply.
The applications areas, supply market and mine to end-user pathways of these metals have undergone major changes in the past few decades. These have significantly affected their prices, or raised concerns about the future of advanced technologies that depend upon them.
Copper is not a critical metal, it never has been, and considering its resources and recyclability, is not likely to become one. It’s traded on 