Metals For A Greener World Economy

With the worldwide shift to greener energy, David McKay analyses the impact this will have on mineral production. Which metals will be the winners and who will lose out as global economies strive to be more sustainable?

- David McKay

In July, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, issued an unusual public challenge to the world’s mining industry. Commenting during an investor presentation, he dangled the prospect of a “giant contract for a long period of time” to the firm that could supply responsibly-mined nickel.

Nickel is not, particularly in short supply. According to a June report by Australia’s Macquarie Bank, previously forecast deficits in nickel for this year until 2025 are now expected to turn into narrow surpluses. This is partly owing to the impact of the Covid-19 disease, which has dented consumption more than supply, the bank says.

Availability, however, was not behind Tesla’s request. In a world of improving environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, it’s peace of mind that’s harder to source than minerals.

The mining industry has been boosted by increased demand for metals – such as nickel, which is used by industrialists like Musk for the batteries that go into electric vehicles (EVs). In the case of Tesla, its Shanghai-based Gigajoule factory is expected to increase capacity by 570% over the next decade to 248-gigawatt hours, according to data company Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. One GWh of battery capacity is enough for 18 000 cars, on average.

According to a report by Bloomberg NEF, global passenger EV sales will be just shy of 26m vehicles by 2030. Total all-segment user demand for lithium-ion batteries, the most popular type of battery technology currently in use for EVs, will still be over 2 000GWh by 2030, the report said.