STATE — A devastating study shows the reality of the push to manufacture all new cars and light trucks as electric by 2035 cannot be met.
The study released last week by the University of Michigan and the International Energy Forum on Monday sent shockwaves through EV circles. The report calls for a pivot to hybrid vehicles due to the magnitude of copper needed and a lack of mines to accommodate a full transition by 2035, let alone 2050.
The report by Lawrence Cathles of Cornell University, who worked at Kennecott Copper Corporation’s Ledgemont Laboratory, and Adam Simon, a professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at UM and a fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, addresses the issue by projecting copper supply and demand from 2018 to 2050. And here’s the kicker, per the study:
“Just to meet business-as-usual trends, 115% more copper must be mined in the next 30 years than has been mined historically until now. To electrify the global vehicle fleet requires bringing into production 55% more new mines than would otherwise be needed.”
This is a massive blow to the full EV movement, and hopefully, a wake-up call to local, state and federal officials, as the ability to scale the copper industry at this magnitude cannot happen for decades, if at all.
This isn’t a rage-fueled column against EVs, but rather an opinion based on data and facts in hopes local, state and federal officials see the light and pivot.
