Critical Minerals Sector Needs More Investment to Meet Climate Goals

In 2023, pressure on the market for minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies eased as supply outstripped demand. However, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 report, significant additional investments are still needed to meet global climate goals.

The report shows that after two years of large increases, the prices of critical minerals such as lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, and graphite fell sharply in 2023, returning to levels last seen before the pandemic. The materials used to make the batteries saw particularly significant declines, with the price of lithium falling by 75% and the prices of cobalt, nickel and graphite falling by 30% to 45%, helping to reduce battery prices by 14%. As demand growth remains strong, these declines were mainly due to a sharp increase in global supply, which helped offset sharp price increases in 2021 and 2022.

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