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Three Ways Copper Will Contribute to China’s New Energy Vehicle Growth

The Promise and Limits of Urban Mining

Urban Mining is a concept that emphasizes the potential of cities, the human habitat and built environment as a source of raw materials. New research, commissioned by the International Copper…

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Copper Demand Predicted to Grow with Smart Cities

Total volume of copper in smart city technology to nearly double by 2025. New research, commissioned by ICA, revealed copper is the material of choice for smart city technology, thanks…

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Every Bit Counts: Markus Lends Laboratory Help at Skellefteå Hospital

In northern Sweden, Markus Nordqvist of Boliden sprang into action to help Skellefteå Hospital’s chemical laboratory as the coronavirus began straining the healthcare industry. During the pandemic onset, International Copper…

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Kennecott the First to Receive the Copper Mark for Responsible Production

August 25, 2020 Kennecott Utah Copper LLC, Rio Tinto’s site in Utah, United States, has become the first producer to be awarded the Copper Mark. To achieve the Copper Mark,…

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Three Ways Copper Will Contribute to China’s New Energy Vehicle Growth

The State Council of China developed the Energy-Saving and New Energy Automobile Industry Development Plan (2012 – 2020), which aims to reach both a production capacity of two million electric vehicles and a sales volume of five million electric vehicles by 2020. By 2025, this number could grow to seven million vehicles—or 20 percent of the total Chinese automobile market.

The expected explosive growth of electric vehicles, especially battery-powered electric vehicles, will benefit the copper industry and boost demand for the material in China and beyond in several ways.

Copper: Essential for electric-vehicle construction

The average small electric car uses about 40 kilograms of copper (compared to only 10 kilograms for a standard combustible engine vehicle), and an electric bus can use up to 70 kilograms of copper. Copper is an essential component to a diverse range of parts including motors, batteries, high-voltage cables and air conditioning and heat-exchange systems.

Additionally, copper’s excellent heat conductivity, as well as its relative lightweight, make it a top choice for motor design. Copper-rotor motors can significantly improve the driving performance and energy efficiency of vehicles, while keeping with lightweight trends.

Given the estimated growth of the electric-vehicle market to five million vehicles by 2020, China’s copper use may eventually exceed 300,000 tonnes from vehicle construction alone.

Copper: Integral to EV charging systems

To meet the growing demand for both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, China’s State Council issued the Guidance on Accelerating Construction of Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles in 2015. This guideline aims to build more than 12,000 charging and battery swapping stations and nearly five million decentralized charging piles across the country by 2020. Copper is a crucial part of electric-vehicle-charging systems—it can be found in transformers, cables and wiring.

Shanghai Brilliance Consulting estimates the planned development of EV-charging systems will generate a demand for 130,000 to 140,000 tonnes of copper. Together with the 300,000 tonnes of copper used in the vehicles themselves, copper use in the electric-vehicle industry could grow over 400,000 tonnes in China alone in 2020.

Copper: Facilitates green development in the EV industry and beyond through recycling

Copper products have a long life-span and are 100 percent recyclable. Therefore, using copper in electric vehicles can reduce the impact on the environment both during the life of the product and after it. Most copper materials found in electric vehicles can be readily recycled, and batteries (historically more difficult to recycle) can have the copper extracted and recycled through a relatively simple process. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center has estimated that copper extracted and recycled from electric vehicles could amount to between 120,000 to 170,000 tonnes by 2020. This recycled copper can then be repurposed for more electric vehicles or any number of alternative uses.

Featured Resources

The Promise and Limits of Urban Mining

Urban Mining is a concept that emphasizes the potential of cities, the human habitat and built environment as a source…

Read More

Copper Demand Predicted to Grow with Smart Cities

Total volume of copper in smart city technology to nearly double by 2025. New research, commissioned by ICA, revealed copper…

Read More

Every Bit Counts: Markus Lends Laboratory Help at Skellefteå Hospital

In northern Sweden, Markus Nordqvist of Boliden sprang into action to help Skellefteå Hospital’s chemical laboratory as the coronavirus began…

Read More

Kennecott the First to Receive the Copper Mark for Responsible Production

August 25, 2020 Kennecott Utah Copper LLC, Rio Tinto’s site in Utah, United States, has become the first producer to…

Read More

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ICA’s members represent a majority of global copper production, and include many of the largest copper and copper-alloy fabricators. ICA’s status as a not-for-profit trade association provides its members with a credible, independent advocate to address challenges faced by the collective industry.

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