SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AND ENERGY
Raw materials will be at the centre of decarbonisation efforts and electrification of economies and the mining sector will need to grow at an unprecedented pace in order to enable the required technological shifts , according to a new McKinsey report .
As we move from fossil fuels to wind and solar power generation , battery and fuel-cell-based electric vehicles ( EVs ), and hydrogen production , the required pace of transition means that the availability of certain raw materials will need to be scaled up within a relatively short time and , in certain cases , at volumes " ten times or more than the current market size ," it notes .
Lithium mine supply would need to grow by around a factor of seven versus today ’ s required growth , while copper and nickel would require US $ 250bn to US $ 350bn cumulative capital expenditures by 2030 .
Just as there are several possible trajectories through which the global economy can achieve its target of limiting warming to 1.5 ° C , there are corresponding technology mixes involving different rawmaterials combinations that bring their own respective implications , it notes .
" No matter which decarbonisation pathway we follow , there will be fundamental demand shifts — and these will change the metals and mining sector as we
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