Lead language
The transition from traditional energy sources to renewable energies and the transition from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles will further stimulate demand for copper. Is copper resources available on Earth? From the history of copper, its status quo and its role in the future Take a look.
Historical point of view
◆ Copper has a long history and literally it even has an era of its own name.The earliest history of copper goes back to 4500 BC to 3500 BC As early as then, mankind had begun to use copper Making agriculture, tools of production, and simple weapons, Someone occasionally mixes tin and copper and finds a material that is firmer than copper (the so-called bronze) - born in the Bronze Age Of course, copper is still the main ingredient in this alloy.
Copper's influence has continued to be strong for centuries, and its good ductility has made it a material for ancient Egyptian plumbing, extensively used in heating and heating systems; its strong corrosion resistance is used by ancient Romans to make million The roof of the temple, which is also the main reason that contemporary buildings like to use copper as a roof; its excellent electrical conductivity (second only to silver) makes it a key conductor of electrical wiring systems and a key material for power generation equipment, It also supports solar heating, large-scale desalination facilities, and motor innovations.
Energy transition phase
◆ In the current era of rapid change, we are now facing a transition from a traditional fossil fuel-led energy structure to a new type of renewable energy, which has a great impact on the demand and use of copper. In the future, more and more copper will be needed in the future.
New energy power generation technologies - especially wind, ocean energy and solar installations - are industries that demand very tight copper, with about 6 tonnes of copper for a 1 MW offshore wind turbine and 4 tonnes per megawatt for a PV plant Copper, significantly higher than 1.1 tons / MW for a fuel-fired power plant and 0.7 tons / MW for a nuclear power plant.
At the same time, the transformation of the energy system also needs to increase investment in the construction of transmission and distribution infrastructure, which further increases the amount of copper used, for example, in power transmission networks, transformers, power electronic equipment and cross-border transmission lines. A lot of copper.
For the next few decades, copper will be widely used in a variety of new energy sources, for example, a typical common electric car will have a copper content of 50-60 kg, whereas conventional diesel engines with internal combustion engines The amount of copper is about 20kg.
In the energy transition period, the efficiency of energy use will also affect the amount of copper Demand for copper will grow further as heat pumps and industrial heating equipment increase, energy-efficient buildings, building automation systems, demand response control systems, energy storage solutions and other related projects advance.
Combined with all these facilities, it is estimated that the new copper demand in the EU will total 20 million tons by 2050. However, this amount is not absolute, but interrelated, sharing over 35 years This means that annual copper demand increases about 14% from the current level of demand.
Current copper reserves and future availability
◆ The total amount of available copper is based on the concepts of reserve and resources.
Reserve refers to this part that has been discovered, assessed and has a profit value. The current reserve of copper is about 720 million tons.
The amount of copper resources is even greater, including not only the resource reserves that have been excavated, but also a portion of the deposits that have yet to be discovered by geological studies, and the total amount is expected to exceed 5 billion tons.
In addition, current and future resource development opportunities will increase copper reserves and resources, such as unidentified deep-sea nodules and large amounts of marine polymetallic sulphides.
in other words, We will have a large number of copper resources to fill this part of the increase in demand for copper due to the energy transition.
However, these figures are still not comprehensive enough. Copper, a major asset of the metal itself, is 100% recyclable and will play a huge role in the energy transition.
100% copper recyclability
◆ We all know that metal can be recycled and reused, but the biggest trump card of copper is one of the few metals that can be recycled 100% more than the rest of the metal, and the quality and performance of the re- There is no loss and impact.
In the copper recycling process, its energy efficiency is also very high , 80% -90% lower than the energy used in the original mining process.About half of the copper in the EU countries has been recycled and recycled in the past few decades, and the proportion continues to increase, Two-thirds of the 550 million tons of copper produced after 1900 are still in use, and these large quantities of copper-containing products are available in a variety of forms for terminal use, equivalent to 20 years of copper production.
Copper is not cobalt or indium
◆ Cobalt, Indium, Tantalum, Niobium, Rare Earth, and 27 other metals are the scarce raw materials that the European Commission has identified as important and of crucial importance in high-tech, green and military defensive applications whose supply is subject to political and economic factors Are driving very large markets where the supply of these materials and end-use pathways have undergone tremendous changes in the area of application These changes have a profound impact on their prices and hence on the future of advanced technologies Material dependence and attention.
Copper is not such a decisive metal, and copper is unlikely to be a metal from the point of view of its total resources and recyclability. As a well-established raw material commodity, it is widely used in London and other major metals Exchange trading, the price of the corresponding market mechanism decision.
In addition, The reserves of copper are distributed in various countries and regions in the world. Therefore, it is not a country or an economy that determines its quantity or even its price. And many rare metals confined to a particular country or region, which can easily lead to price volatility, triggering supply security issues.
in conclusion
◆ Although the use of energy is facing a transformation and upgrading and the demand for copper continues to rise, the overall amount of copper resources on earth and the 100% recoverable nature of copper have clearly shown that whether it is in the present or near future, it The number is very adequate.
Of course, every metal is challenged, Copper as a commodity already has a very solid value chain and recycling industry chain.
It has good sustainability and is continually improving as technology advances. It is the driving force behind the circular economy. At the economic level, the inherent value of copper is the driving force for recycling. On the recycling level, copper Carrier metals, such as noble metal carriers, in turn, guarantee their higher recovery value.
The energy transition plan in the end copper enough? The answer has been self-evident.