The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in its latest report that global metal prices are continuing to rise as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, particularly for nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper and other metals needed for electric vehicle batteries. This trend is expected to further push up the prices of these metals, thus posing a challenge to the cost of electric vehicle battery production.
With the increasing global emphasis on environmental protection and reduction of carbon emissions, the demand for electric vehicles is gradually increasing. The large-scale promotion of electric vehicles cannot be separated from high-performance battery technology, and the manufacture of these batteries requires a large amount of nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper and other metal materials. Therefore, the fluctuation of metal prices on the impact of electric vehicle battery production costs can not be ignored.
IMF report pointed out that the global metal market pattern is changing. According to the International Energy Agency's forecast, by 2030, the demand for copper will grow by 1.5 times, the demand for nickel and cobalt will grow by 1 time, and the demand for lithium will grow by 6 times. This means that the prices of these metals will continue to move higher in the future and could become as central to the global economy as crude oil over the next two decades.
