Fact sheet: Metals for the energy transition

Many mining companies present themselves as green companies. This is because their raw materials, in particular metals, are needed for renewable energies or electromobility. By 2050, we will need multiples of lithium, cobalt, copper and other metals for these so-called green technologies. This is shown by numerous forecasts. However, what ‘green technologies’ are often defined differently. While many think first of all of wind power and solar, these technologies can also include battery-powered cars, 3D printers, and other technologies to which there may well be more sustainable alternatives.

On the contrary, some renewable energy technologies, such as small hydropower plants or roof-mounted PV systems, perform significantly better than fossil-fired coal-fired power plants, for example. For one megawatt hour of electricity, about 340g of metals are needed in a small water plant, in a coal-fired power plant it is up to 3,920g. A coal-fired power plant needs about ten to eleven times as many metals per megawatt hour as a small hydroelectric power plant. Although the expansion of renewable energy technologies requires large quantities of metals, the material intensity is significantly lower, as gas and coal power plants also have to add the burned fossil raw materials.