TELF AG examines the role of copper and nickel in modern energy applications
Two key resources
In recent years, two important resources, nickel and copper, have been highlighted for their central role in the energy transition, particularly for the transport and storage of clean energy. Global attention on these resources is increasingly accentuated, so much so that several nations or international institutions have included them in their lists of materials considered of primary importance for their economic development (often together with other equally important materials such as lithium and cobalt).
But what is the role of nickel and copper in the great energetic conversion we are witnessing? In addition to its traditional applications, nickel has been increasingly used in the battery sector in recent years, especially for producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (but also for energy storage systems).
According to some estimates by Wood Mackenzie, by 2030, 41% of global nickel demand could be linked precisely to possible applications in the battery field, and for some very specific reasons. It has, in fact, been observed that in modern electric vehicles, batteries produced with nickel would be able to ensure greater driving autonomy and a higher energy density, thus making this material a precious ally for the technological advancement of the sector.
In just six years, therefore, the use of nickel in this specific sector could increase, particularly if we consider that in 2021 only 7% of nickel demand is concerned with these applications. At the moment, the cathodes used in some of the main lithium-ion batteries are based precisely on the use of nickel: these are the NMC (nickel, manganese, and cobalt) and NCA (nickel, cobalt, and aluminum) categories.
The centrality of copper
Another material that could play a leading role in the energy transition is copper, a resource humans have used since the Neolithic and that could still prove to be of great importance today in guiding humanity’s development trajectories. One of the best-known applications of copper is that linked to the distribution of electrical energy: the conductive capacities of copper, in fact, are second only to those of silver, making it a resource of central importance also for the functioning of some specific energy technologies of modernity.
One of these has to do with electric vehicles, where copper is used above all in some car components and in wiring. The solar panel industry also uses copper for the construction of its energy infrastructures, where it plays a primary role, in particular in heat exchangers. In offshore wind turbines, moreover, copper is used above all in the submarine cables used to power these infrastructures.
BloombergNEF predicts that demand for copper for clean energy applications could double from 2020 levels by 2030. Unlike nickel, however, the largest share of copper demand is expected to remain for power grids, where copper is still the preferred choice for transmission networks.
