The Electric Vehicle Market and Copper Demand

The Electric Vehicle Market and Copper Demand

Copper demand will be substantially impacted by the growing market for electric vehicles (EVs) over the next decade, according to new research commissioned by the International Copper Association (ICA). The study, titled Copper Intensity in the Electrification of Transport and the Integration of Energy Storage, was conducted by IDTechEx. It provides new details on the important role copper plays in EV technology.

Each type of EV uses considerably more copper than traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. Copper usage for each vehicle type is listed below:

• Internal combustion engine: 23 kg of copper.
• Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV): 40 kg of copper.
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV): 60 kg of copper.
• Battery electric vehicle (BEV): 83 kg of copper.
• Hybrid electric bus (Ebus HEV): 89 kg of copper.
• Battery-powered electric bus (Ebus BEV): 224–369 kg of copper (depending on the size of the battery).

Read entire article: http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/copper-demand-electric-vehicles-study/

A fact sheet summarizing the study can be found on the ICA website here.