“Global shortages of metals essential to the energy transition, forecast to emerge across several key commodities a few years ago, are now expected to ease significantly. However, a looming copper deficit could threaten the pace of electrification and require $332 billion of investment in new mines, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) Transition Metals Outlook 2026.

The outlook for metals has improved considerably in recent years. Just a few years ago, the risk of widespread shortages threatened to constrain the shift to cleaner technologies. BNEF now expects nine of the 10 materials covered in its outlook to have sufficient long-term supply capacity through 2050, provided producers continue to develop mines and replace depleted reserves. This marks an improvement on last year’s outlook, when three materials were projected to face deficits.

Copper remains the major exception. BNEF forecasts a supply deficit beginning in 2028 and widening to 20 million metric tons by 2050 – equivalent to 44% of projected global demand. The shortfall could push up prices, force manufacturers to use alternative materials and slow the deployment of electric vehicles, batteries and electricity grids.”

From BloombergNEF.