Metal Demand Seen Surging for Decades on Strength of Energy Transition, World Bank Says
Prices for industrial metals that already are sky high probably will continue to appreciate, study finds
Demand for metals used in everything from wind-turbine blades to batteries will surge for decades to come, driven by efforts to decarbonize the global economy and shift away from fossil fuels, according to the World Bank.
Even as consumption growth for other commodities like grain probably will trail off in the next 30 years, metals will remain in high demand, delivering “windfall gains for countries that export them,” the bank’s economists wrote in a report released on Thursday. The adoption of low-carbon power generation “implies a permanent increase in demand for copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium, and an eventual drop in the use of fossil fuels.”