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The growing trend for hybrid and electric vehicles ( EVs ) will further increase global copper consumption . The average combustion engine vehicle requires 20kg of copper , a hybrid 40kg , and a plug-in EV ( which can include up to a mile of copper wiring in its stator windings ) 109kg . Much simpler than a combustion engine , the copper coil in an EV ’ s drive motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy , with an electric motor only having three moving parts ( stator , coil and core ). The cars of the future could require as much as 163kg of the metal , with EV sales expected to rise from 2 mn units in 2018 to 21mn units by 2030 .

FEBRUARY 2020