Ahmad Ghahreman, co-founder and CEO of Cyclic Materials told Reuters that reducing the carbon footprint of copper and reusing metals are an important conversation among mining companies.
The call for copper is poised to surge in coming years due to its role in electric vehicles, renewable energy and data centers for artificial intelligence.
Demand is expected to outstrip supply by 1.7% in 2035, and copper prices have scaled to record highs this year. It takes at least 10 years and as much as $5 billion to build a copper mine from scratch. Even if companies do build mines there are other challenges with social capital as seen with opposition to mining by local communities from Panama to Serbia.
Cyclic Materials, which recycles rare earths and copper from end-of-life electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines, and data center electronic scrap, is expected to start delivery by the end of 2025.
Though…
