A little less than half of the copper in the average EV is found in the battery primarily as foil for the anode material.
In a note BMO Capital Markets points out that due to its thinness, conformity and light weight, electrodeposited (ED) copper foil is deemed the most suitable for battery applications.
The investment bank says this has led to a surge in newly announced ED copper foil manufacturing capacity, with around 1 million tonnes of annual output announced in 2021 and due to be commissioned over the next 5-7 years.
ED foil manufacturing mostly utilises high-grade scrap and so competition for copper scrap is set to intensify, while the impact on refined copper may be more muted, says BMO.
Wood Mackenzie, an energy and metals researcher, expects end-use copper demand from passenger EVs (including hybrids) to jump to around 2.9 million tonnes over the next decade from roughly 600,000 tonnes in 2021.
That compares to…
